Abstract This study draws upon the labeling perspective to examine whether there are patterns of continuity and/or change in the severity of juvenile court dispositions, and if these patterns vary by race/ethnicity. Using data on youth referred five times to the Pennsylvania Department of Juvenile Justice between 2000 and 2010 (n = 9089), we examine the presence of latent trajectories of sanction severity across referrals, and whether youth with statistically matched criminal/disposition histories, but of different race/ethnicities, receive disparate future dispositions. Results suggest that juvenile dispositional trajectories are more complex than previously reported, largely in alignment with labeling theory predictions (i.e. escalation in sanction severity). However, trajectories representing stability and de-escalation in sanction severity were also identified. Further, certain youth, predominately of minority status, received more severe dispositions over time, despite having similar histories as White youth, supportive of “sticky labels.” Implications for theory and the juvenile justice system are discussed.

中文翻译：

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种族/民族和先前案件结果对当前处置的影响：少年犯处置职业的连续性和变化

摘要本研究从标签的角度出发，研究了少年法庭处置的严重性是否存在连续性和/或发生变化的模式，以及这些模式是否因种族/民族而变化。我们使用2000年至2010年间五次向宾夕法尼亚州少年司法部转介的青少年数据（n = 9089），研究了转诊期间制裁严重程度的潜在轨迹是否存在，以及犯罪统计/处分历史在统计上是否相符的青少年是否存在。不同种族/民族，将来会有不同的倾向。结果表明，青少年的处置轨迹比以前报道的要复杂得多，这在很大程度上与标签理论的预测相符（即制裁严重程度的提高）。然而，还确定了代表制裁严重程度稳定和下降的轨迹。此外，尽管与白人青年有着相似的历史，支持“粘性标签”，但某些青年人（主要是少数族裔）随着时间的流逝受到了更严重的影响。讨论了对理论和少年司法制度的影响。