Description
Legal cynicism, a concept that reflects how individuals feel about the law, can be linked to different theoretical traditions. However, inconsistencies in the way legal cynicism is operationalized abound. This study aimed to develop a more complete and psychometrically-sound measure of legal cynicism. Factor-analytic procedures were used on a sample of 502 undergraduate university students to create the scale and to test its directional accuracy. Using promax-rotated principal-axis factor analysis, a 4 dimensional factor structure emerged—legal apathy, legal corruption, legal discrimination, and low legal legitimacy. The 21-item scale has a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .85; mean inter-item r = .58). Results from ordinary least squares regression models confirmed that the multidimensional legal cynicism scale is significantly correlated with criminal offending (β = .34, p < .001), net of low self-control and demographic characteristics.
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Details
Title
- Toward the development of a multidimensional legal cynicism scale
Contributors
- Gifford, Faith (Author)
- Reisig, Michael D. (Thesis advisor)
- Wang, Xia (Committee member)
- Wright, Kevin A. (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2015
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2015
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 28-30)
- Field of study: Criminology
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Faith Gifford