Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1989

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Sociology

Major Professor

James A. Black

Abstract

Using models of juvenile justice ideology, this thesis examines factors influencing juvenile court officials adherence to legally prescribed justice mandates in Tennessee. Survey data collected from juvenile court officials in 58 of Tennessee's 95 counties were used to develop scales which empirically conform to fundamental assumptions and operational principles of the Constitutionalist and Socialized models of justice. The study then compared court officials' ideological preferences to that mandated by Tennessee law. It also examined the relationship between court officials' ideologies and selected personal, organizational and demographic factors. Three statistical techniques were used to analyze the data: factor analysis, reliability statistics, and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. Findings indicate that there are distinct ideological preferences and that the year of employment, court size, and level of county urbanization are significant in explaining ideology. Collectively, these results indicate a bifurcation in Tennessee's legislatively mandated ideology. This bifurcation in ideologies must be resolved if a coherent system of juvenile justice is to be maintained.

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