Public perception of crime is an important focus of research, especially when considering juvenile offenders. However, there is very limited research in this area. This study looked at how the public perceives crime seriousness and how race of the juvenile offender impacts the overall seriousness rating. An online survey that included 15 crime scenarios was completed by 176 participants. It was hypothesized that a crime would be rated as more severe when the juvenile offender is African American as compared to a Caucasian juvenile offender. Results found that participants overall rated the seriousness of offenses as significantly higher for Caucasian offenders than for African American offenders.
","abstract_html":"<p>Public perception of crime is an important focus of research, especially when considering juvenile offenders. However, there is very limited research in this area. This study looked at how the public perceives crime seriousness and how race of the juvenile offender impacts the overall seriousness rating. An online survey that included 15 crime scenarios was completed by 176 participants. It was hypothesized that a crime would be rated as more severe when the juvenile offender is African American as compared to a Caucasian juvenile offender. Results found that participants overall rated the seriousness of offenses as significantly higher for Caucasian offenders than for African American offenders.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Whitaker, Megan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sandra Zakowski, PhD","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Margarete Ronnett, Psy.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z","subjects":["Cognition and Perception","Juvenile Law","Law and Race","Social Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/676","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sandra Zakowski, PhD","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Margarete Ronnett, Psy.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Whitaker, Megan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-24T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cognition and Perception","Juvenile Law","Law and Race","Social Justice"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/676"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Public perception of crime is an important focus of research, especially when considering juvenile offenders. However, there is very limited research in this area. This study looked at how the public perceives crime seriousness and how race of the juvenile offender impacts the overall seriousness rating. An online survey that included 15 crime scenarios was completed by 176 participants. It was hypothesized that a crime would be rated as more severe when the juvenile offender is African American as compared to a Caucasian juvenile offender. Results found that participants overall rated the seriousness of offenses as significantly higher for Caucasian offenders than for African American offenders.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Impact of Juvenile Offender Race on Public Perception of Crime Seriousness"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sandra Zakowski, PhD","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Margarete Ronnett, Psy.D."],"dc:creator":["Whitaker, Megan"],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-24T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Public perception of crime is an important focus of research, especially when considering juvenile offenders. However, there is very limited research in this area. This study looked at how the public perceives crime seriousness and how race of the juvenile offender impacts the overall seriousness rating. An online survey that included 15 crime scenarios was completed by 176 participants. It was hypothesized that a crime would be rated as more severe when the juvenile offender is African American as compared to a Caucasian juvenile offender. Results found that participants overall rated the seriousness of offenses as significantly higher for Caucasian offenders than for African American offenders.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/676"],"dc:subject":["Cognition and Perception","Juvenile Law","Law and Race","Social Justice"],"dc:title":["The Impact of Juvenile Offender Race on Public Perception of Crime Seriousness"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z"}