The Impact of Juvenile Offender Race on Public Perception of Crime Seriousness

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Public Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Clinical Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Whitaker, Megan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sandra Zakowski, PhD
• Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.
• Margarete Ronnett, Psy.D.

• Cognition and Perception
• Juvenile Law
• Law and Race
• Social Justice

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/676

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1713