ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Toward Developmentally Appropriate Juvenile Court Practice:
A Juvenile Court Training Curriculum
by the National Juvenile Defender Center inpartnership with Juvenile Law Center
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Module 1:
Adolescent Development
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice
• Adolescents Adults
• Describe and document differences
• Inform policy and practice
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
First, as any parent knows, and as the scientific and sociological studies… tend to confirm, a “lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility are found in youth more often than in adults. These qualities often result in impetuous and ill-considered actions and opinions.”…The second area of difference is that juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure….The third broad difference is that the character of a juvenile is not as well-formed as that of an adult. The personality traits of juveniles are more transitory, less fixed.Source: Majority opinion, U.S. Supreme Court, Roper v. Simmons
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Adolescent Development
Overview• Cognitive Development• Psychosocial Development• Brain Development• Moral Development• Identity • Disabilities• Understanding Adolescent Development in
Context
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
1.Possibilities
2.Abstraction
3.Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
4.Thinking in multiple dimensions
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
• Risk Perception– Value consequences
differently from adults
• Sensation Seeking– Need for novel and
complex experiences
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
• Present Oriented Thinking– Difficulty thinking about
the future and delaying gratification
• Peer Influences– More vulnerable to
peer pressure particularly in risky situations
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
• Ability to appraise risks and consequences
• Ability to act with prudence and after consideration
• Ability to resist peer pressure
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
The maturity gap
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Psychosocial Development and Decision-Making
• How do psychosocial factors influence youth’s decision-making in this incident?– Risk Perception– Sensation Seeking– Peer Influence– Future orientation
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
How brain “maturation” is measured
• Density of Grey Matter– Neurons and neuronal connections
(synapses)
• Density and Patterning of White Matter– Myelin (fatty “insulation” around circuits)
• Two Important Processes– Synaptic Pruning– Myelination
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
What Does Research Say About Adolescent Brain Development• Helpful to think of two distinct sets of
brain systems relevant to adolescent behavior.
• Systems involve different regions of the brain and develop along different time tables.
• Socio-emotional system
• Cognitive control system
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
• Socioemotional System
• Cognitive Control System
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
The Socio-Emotional System• Responsible for processing emotions, social
information, reward and punishment
• Undergoes major changes in early adolescence that are related to hormonal changes.
• Changes in early adolescence result in:– Increased sensation-seeking – Increased/easier emotional arousal– Increased attentiveness to social
information
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
The Cognitive Control System• Responsible for deliberative thinking – weighing costs
and benefits, thinking ahead, regulating impulses• Develops gradually from preadolescence on, well into
the mid-20s• Changes result in
– More impulse control– Better emotion regulation – More foresight– More planning ahead– Better reasoning
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
What Does It All Mean?
• Adolescence is a time characterized by a socio-emotional system that is easily aroused and highly sensitive to social feedback
• Adolescence is a time characterized by a still-immature cognitive control systemAs a result, adolescents are – less able to control impulses– Less able to resist pressure from peers– Less likely to think ahead– More driven by the thrill of rewards
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
19
What Does It Not Mean
• That adolescents do not know right from wrong
• That adolescents are the same as young children
• That adolescents should not be held responsible for their actions
• That all juvenile offenders are the same
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Limitations of Brain Research• It can not substitute for an assessment of an
individual’s actual behavior• It can not tell us when individuals are still able to
change, or are still amenable to treatment• It does not change anything we already knew about
differences between the behavior of adolescents and adults
• The idea that biological evidence is more “real” than psychological evidence is naïve
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Implications of Adolescent Development to Policy and Practice
• Developmental Concepts
– Cognitive maturation
– Psychosocial maturation
• Legal Concepts
– Competence
– Culpability• Mitigation
– Amenability
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Implications of Adolescent Development to Policy and Practice
“12-year-old who could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' for killing two-year-old brother.”
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Implications of Adolescent Development for Policy and Practice
• Legal Questions regarding: – Competence to Stand
Trial – Validity of Waiver of
Miranda– Interrogation and
False Confessions
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Implications of Adolescent Development to Policy and Practice
• Transfer and Sentencing in Adult Court– Culpability
“12-year-old who could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' for killing two-year-old brother.”
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
Implications of Adolescent Development for Policy and Practice
• Amenability to treatment– Youth still developing—who they are is not
necessarily who they will become– Desistance– Sanctions should hold youth responsible, but
not “arrest development”.
ModelsforChangeSystems Reform in Juvenile Justice
For more information
or to request training based on the Curriculum please contact:
National Juvenile Defender Center
1350 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 304
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-452-0010
Fax: 202-452-1205
www.njdc.info
Toward Developmentally Appropriate Juvenile Court
Practice: A Juvenile Court Training
Curriculum
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