Adolescents' attitudes toward the death penalty

In this study, a questionnaire was administered to 142 students at two high schools (72 boys and 70 girls) and 112 students at a state college (36 men and 76 women) to determine whether they favored the death penalty for certain criminal acts. A questionnaire was also administered to assess extraversion and neuroticism. The findings indicated that high school students rated more criminal acts as meriting the death penalty than did college students. Gender and personality were not found to be associated with attitudes toward the death penalty.