Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Motz, RT; Barnes, JC; Caspi, A; Arseneault, L; Cullen, FT; Houts, R; Wertz, J; Moffitt, TE
Published in: Criminology : an interdisciplinary journal
May 2020

What impact does formal punishment have on antisocial conduct-does it deter or promote it? The findings from a long line of research on the labeling tradition indicate formal punishments have the opposite-of-intended consequence of promoting future misbehavior. In another body of work, the results show support for deterrence-based hypotheses that punishment deters future misbehavior. So, which is it? We draw on a nationally representative sample of British adolescent twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study to perform a robust test of the deterrence versus labeling question. We leverage a powerful research design in which twins can serve as the counterfactual for their co-twin, thereby ruling out many sources of confounding that have likely impacted prior studies. The pattern of findings provides support for labeling theory, showing that contact with the justice system-through spending a night in jail/prison, being issued an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), or having an official record-promotes delinquency. We conclude by discussing the impact these findings may have on criminologists' and practitioners' perspective on the role of the juvenile justice system in society.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Criminology : an interdisciplinary journal

DOI

EISSN

1745-9125

ISSN

0011-1384

Publication Date

May 2020

Volume

58

Issue

2

Start / End Page

307 / 335

Related Subject Headings

  • Criminology
  • 4402 Criminology
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 2201 Applied Ethics
  • 1602 Criminology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Motz, R. T., Barnes, J. C., Caspi, A., Arseneault, L., Cullen, F. T., Houts, R., … Moffitt, T. E. (2020). Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins. Criminology : An Interdisciplinary Journal, 58(2), 307–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12236
Motz, Ryan T., J. C. Barnes, Avshalom Caspi, Louise Arseneault, Francis T. Cullen, Renate Houts, Jasmin Wertz, and Terrie E. Moffitt. “Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins.Criminology : An Interdisciplinary Journal 58, no. 2 (May 2020): 307–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12236.
Motz RT, Barnes JC, Caspi A, Arseneault L, Cullen FT, Houts R, et al. Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins. Criminology : an interdisciplinary journal. 2020 May;58(2):307–35.
Motz, Ryan T., et al. “Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins.Criminology : An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 58, no. 2, May 2020, pp. 307–35. Epmc, doi:10.1111/1745-9125.12236.
Motz RT, Barnes JC, Caspi A, Arseneault L, Cullen FT, Houts R, Wertz J, Moffitt TE. Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins. Criminology : an interdisciplinary journal. 2020 May;58(2):307–335.
Journal cover image

Published In

Criminology : an interdisciplinary journal

DOI

EISSN

1745-9125

ISSN

0011-1384

Publication Date

May 2020

Volume

58

Issue

2

Start / End Page

307 / 335

Related Subject Headings

  • Criminology
  • 4402 Criminology
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 2201 Applied Ethics
  • 1602 Criminology