Resource Library
New to the Resource Library?
Learn how to navigate, search, and use our resources effectively.
Associations between externalizing behavior problems and risky sexual behaviors in adolescence: Attachment as a mediator
Adolescence is a time of increased risk for health issues and new relationships. Some adolescents engage in risky sexual behaviors, like early sex or not using condoms, which can lead to health problems.
The Life-Course of Juvenile Lifers: Understanding Maturation and Development as Miller and Its Progeny Guide Juvenile Life Sentence Release Decisions
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that most juveniles sentenced to life in prison can mature and change. These individuals should have a chance to show they have reformed and earn release.
In the wake of Miller and Montgomery: A national view of people sentenced to juvenile life without parole
The U.S. has a high incarceration rate, driven by long sentences. Many people serving life sentences committed their crimes as juveniles. These sentences are often unnecessary for public safety and costly.
Susceptibility to peer influence in adolescents: Associations between psychophysiology and behavior
Adolescents are more susceptible to peer influence, which can be direct, indirect, or continuing. This influence impacts both antisocial and prosocial behaviors. The study examines how these types of influence affect different behaviors.
Naloxone precipitated withdrawal increases dopamine release in the dorsal striatum of opioid dependent men
This study found that opioid withdrawal increases dopamine in the dorsal striatum and decreases it in the ventral striatum, which is linked to withdrawal aversion.
Drive, instinct, reflex-Applications to treatment of anxiety, depressive and addictive disorders
Psychoanalysis has long confused "drive" and "instinct." This article defines drive as a motivated search for satisfaction, distinct from instinct, and identifies five core human motivations rooted in brain systems shared with animals.
Primer: Psychedelics
Psychedelics are chemicals categorized by structure. They are found in nature or made synthetically. These compounds alter perception, cognition, and mood, with effects varying by substance and dose.
Use of Marijuana: Effect on Brain Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Marijuana use is increasing, with growing potency in THC levels. Concerns exist about its effects on brain health, particularly in adolescents and young adults, and potential drug interactions.
Competencies for Training Juvenile Services on Justice Involved Youth with Traumatic Brain Injury
Youth in juvenile correction facilities have high rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Staff training is crucial for identifying TBI, improving outcomes, and ensuring youth receive necessary care, but current training is often inadequate.
Justice for Emerging Adults after Jones: the Rapidly Developing Use of Neuroscience to Extend Eighth Amendment Miller Protections to Defendants Ages 18 and Older
This article examines how neuroscience is used to argue against the death penalty and mandatory life without parole for emerging adults (ages 18 to early 20s).
Lonely Too Long: Redefining and Reforming Juvenile Solitary Confinement
Kalief Browder's story highlights the devastating impact of solitary confinement, especially on young individuals.
Should the Science of Adolescent Brain Development Inform Public Policy?
Adolescence brings significant brain changes impacting structure and function, continuing longer than previously thought. These changes affect self-control, emotional regulation, and how the brain responds to rewards.
The Vicious Cycle: Problematic Family Relations, Substance Abuse, and Crime in Adolescence: A Narrative Review
Adolescence is a time of high vulnerability where many physical, behavioral, and cognitive changes occur, often leading to risky behaviors. These actions can be influenced by individual, family, and environmental factors.
Expanding understanding of adolescent neural sensitivity to peers: Using social information processing theory to generate new lines of research.
Adolescents are highly susceptible to peer influence, which impacts their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and brain function. This vulnerability is linked to brain changes that make them especially sensitive to peer input.
International Conformity to the Standard Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: Comparing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility to the Minimum Legal Age of Marriage
Many countries prosecute and imprison children as young as seven, despite international standards setting the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 14. This practice harms children and contradicts global efforts to protect them.