A behavioral continuum synthesizing Neutralization Theory, situational ethics and juvenile delinquency

This paper develops some ideas in Matza's Neutralization theory into a continuum containing four categories ranging from extreme goodness to rebellion. We labeled these categories as Moral Absolute, Situational Ethic, Neutralization, and Rebellious Absolute. We discuss the percentages expected in each category and hypothesize that involvement in delinquency will increase progressively across these four categories. The rationale behind this hypothesis is that youth in the United States are viewed as being socialized to accept absolute norms but also to allow exceptions to these norms for particular situations, and that delinquent youth extend these exceptions to zones wider than are tolerated by law officers and wider than are generally accepted. A modified version of the Nye-Short self-reported delinquency scale and measures of normative oreintation which we constructed were used in a mail-out questionnaire to public school students (N = 351). We view our findings as being basically consistent with these expectations.