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Rethinking peer influence and risk taking: A strengths-based approach to adolescence in a new era
Over the past 25 years, externalizing behaviors in adolescents, like teen pregnancy and substance abuse, have significantly decreased. However, rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness have dramatically increased during the same period.
Life after life: Recidivism among individuals formerly sentenced to mandatory juvenile life without parole
The Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to the harshest penalties violates the Eighth Amendment, citing developmental science. This led to more than 2000 individuals becoming eligible for resentencing.
A comparative network analysis of the criminogenic needs of male emerging adult first-time offenders, repeated offenders, and university students
This study compares criminogenic needs across non-offenders, first-time offenders, and repeat offenders aged 18-25.
Analysis of Substance Use and Mental Disorder Diagnoses in Adolescents with a History of Delinquency: A Cross-sectional Study
A significant number of children and adolescents experiencing mental disorders are also involved in juvenile delinquency. Substance use is a major factor, often leading to criminal behavior and increasing health risks.
Mapping racial/ethnic disparities in youth psychiatric emergencies and associations with neighborhood racial composition, child opportunity, and inequality
A child's neighborhood significantly impacts their health and life chances, even more than genetics. Disparities in neighborhood opportunity, particularly by race and ethnicity, lead to substantial health and social inequalities.
The end of “permanently incorrigible”: Putting Jones v. Mississippi into context
The Supreme Court has increasingly limited harsh sentences for juvenile offenders, prohibiting the death penalty and most life-without-parole sentences.
The Myth of Youth: Rethinking the Negligence Standard of Care for Minors in the Age of Neuroscience
The article proposes expanding the negligence standard of care for young adults up to age twenty-five. This reflects modern neuroscience showing ongoing brain development and could bring greater fairness to liability judgments.
The role of adolescent anxious mood, marijuana use, and locus of control in the school to prison pipeline
Harsh school discipline, particularly for African American students, often leads to lower achievement and increased dropout rates. This "school-to-prison pipeline" contributes to higher incarceration rates and worse life outcomes.
Anxiety may alter the role of fronto-striatal circuitry in adolescent risky decision-making
Anxiety disorders often start in adolescence and involve avoidance, which can become a hard-to-break habit. Researchers explored brain activity related to avoidance in adolescents to understand how it contributes to anxiety.
A Second Chance at Success: Using “Second Look” Laws to Modify Sentences of Juvenile Offenders
This article proposes a model "second look" law for juveniles. It suggests applying to those who committed crimes under age 25, serving 10 years, and allowing multiple re-applications with court factors and guaranteed counsel.
A Case for Changing the Age of Majority From 18 to 22 Years of Age in Massachusetts
The criminal justice system lacks consistent age definitions for youth and adults, impacting which legal system processes individuals. This inconsistency affects access to rehabilitation, confidentiality, and future labeling.
Stability and cross-lagged relations among callous-unemotional traits, moral identity, moral emotion attribution and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents
The study found that callous-unemotional traits, moral identity, and moral emotion attributions are linked to externalizing behavior problems in adolescents. These factors influence the occurrence and severity of such behaviors over time.
The neurobiological effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function, and attachment
Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders and atypical brain development. It affects brain structure and function, with impacts varying by the child's age and proximity to the maltreatment.
Neuroendocrine mechanisms in the links between early life stress, affect, and youth substance use: A conceptual model for the study of sex and gender differences
Early life stress affects adolescent brain development and hormone regulation. This can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and substance use, with differences observed between sexes and genders.
Mapping potential pathways from polygenic liability through brain structure to psychological problems across the transition to adolescence
Genetic risk for externalizing problems in youth is linked to differences in brain structure. These structural differences may predict psychological problems observed one to two years later.