Objectives

Recent evidence suggests that typifying violent juvenile delinquency as a Black phenomenon may increase support for punitive juvenile justice policies. However, the research to date has not yet explored various theoretical explanations for this relationship. In particular, theory suggests that racialized punitiveness may be explained by (1) the adoption of dispositional attributions toward delinquency, (2) the failure to empathetically identify with delinquents, and (3) the belief that juveniles possess adult criminal intent and lack childhood naivety. The current study addresses this gap to determine the mediating associations between each of these factors and the racial stereotypes-punitiveness link.

Methods

Path analysis is conducted to determine the direct and indirect associations of each of the proposed mediators. In deriving the measures for the analyses, we also make the first attempt at operationalizing empathy specifically toward offenders.

Results

The findings suggest that those who racially typify violent delinquency are more likely to attribute juvenile crime to dispositional causes, empathize less with violent juvenile offenders, and believe young violent offenders possess adult criminal intentions, which in turn, leads to increased punitiveness.

Conclusion

The findings provide support for three theoretical predictions of racialized punitiveness. Empathy emerges as the strongest predictor of punitive attitudes and accounts for the largest proportion of the relationship between racial typification and support for punitive delinquency policies.