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Justice judgements, school failure, and adolescent deviant behaviour
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Background. The current paper is based on two different approaches. One is the
relational model of authority (Tyler & Lind, 1992), which addresses the effects of justice
perceptions on the legitimacy of authorities and behavioural compliance. The other is
Emler and Reicher’s theory (1995, 2005), which explains the involvement of adolescents
in delinquency through their relationship with the institutional authorities of society.
Aims. To provide empirical evidence for the linkage of these perspectives, analysing
the relationship between justice perceptions about teachers and the involvement of
adolescents in deviant behaviour. Our hypotheses are that teachers’ justice is negatively
related with deviant behaviour and that this relationship is mediated through the
evaluation of institutional authorities, after controlling for school failure.
Sample. Three hundred and ninety adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years.
Methods. Participants completed the following scales: perceptions of justice about
teachers, evaluation of institutional authorities, and deviant behaviour. Data were
examined through correlation and bootstrap analyses.
Results. Justice judgments about teachers were negatively related with deviant
behaviour, and this relationship was partially mediated by the evaluation of institutional
authorities, even after controlling for school failure. However, procedural justice
revealed a much stronger relationship with deviance, compared to distributive justice.
Conclusions. As predicted, these results suggest that when adolescents perceive
school authorities as fair, other institutional authorities are likely to be perceived in
a similar way and the more those authorities are positively evaluated, the less often
adolescents engage in deviant conduct. Results are discussed according to the theories
underlying our hypothesis. Directions for future research are suggested.
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Citation
British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82 (4), 606-621