Correlates of formal and informal social/crime control in China: An exploratory study

There are two major ways for a society to control its members, formal and informal. A major goal of both forms of control is to curb criminal behavior. Formal criminal justice control uses the law and official government agencies (e.g., police, courts, and corrections) to ensure compliance. Informal criminal justice control uses morals and social institutions (e.g., family, peers, and neighbors). China has a long history of using informal criminal justice controls. Nevertheless, there has been a movement during the past several decades towards use of formal criminal justice controls. This study examined the level of agreement with both forms of control and the correlates of each form using a survey of Chinese college students. Findings from multivariate analysis indicated that those who held a Confucian belief in law and punishment, those who had a higher distrust of strangers, and those who grew up in rural areas were more supportive of informal control, while those who were majoring in the area of law and male respondents were more supportive of formal control.