The development of decision‐making capacities in children and adolescents: Psychological and neurological perspectives and their implications for juvenile defendants

Abstract

The development of decision-making capacities in children and adolescents has been a topic of interest for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Questions regarding the development of decision-making capacities (and moral reasoning) of youth frequently arise in juvenile justice settings, other forensic settings, and sometimes in treatment settings. This article attempts to review the latest and most relevant research on the development of decision-making capacities likely to be relevant in children and adolescents who are defendants. We distinguish cognition versus judgment in decision-making and briefly review adolescent decision-making in laboratory and real world conditions. We review a theoretical framework of two different systems, a cognitive-control system and socio-emotional system, and potentially correlated neurobiological and psychological findings. Implications for selected aspects of the juvenile adjudicative process are discussed.

Juvenile offenders on trial: does alibi corroboration evidence and defendant age interact to influence jurors’ perceptions and verdicts?

“…The minimum age and applicability in subjecting a juvenile to adult court procedures are debated in the criminal justice system as well as in the public arena. Some feel that adolescents, particularly those under the age of 15 years, do not have the same criminal culpability and adjudicative competence as adults (see Kambam & Thompson, 2009;Schmidt, Reppucci, & Woolard, 2003), while others believe a "get tough" approach rendering strict and enduring consequences is most appropriate for juvenile offenders. Despite some protestors, juveniles are, at times, heard in adult courts and can be subjected to jury trials, where members of the public decide a verdict and, in some cases, recommend their sentence (as cited in Camilletti & Scullin, 2012).…”

Risky Business: Developmental Neuroscience and the Culpability of Young Killers

“…The term ''cold cognition'' describes thought processes that occur in situations of low emotional intensity and ''hot cognition'' describes those that occur in situations of high emotional intensity. 94 …”

Le rôle des facteurs développementaux dans la détermination de la responsabilité morale chez les jeunes : une étude pilote évaluant les opinions d’experts légaux et cliniques

“…Nous cernerons aussi comment un dialogue plus rapproché entre le droit et la science pourrait paver la voie au consensus et à un meilleur traitement des jeunes délinquants. Les adolescents présentent un risque plus élevé de conduites criminelles (Agnew, 2003 ;Kambam et Thompson, 2009) -c'est-à-dire violer la loi, ce qui peut entraîner des pénalités telles que l'incarcération ou l'amende. Des recherches montrent que les taux d'arrestation atteignent des sommets entre les âges de 15 à 18 ans (Gottfredson et Hirschi, 1990).…”

“…La capacité à prendre des décisions, soit la capacité d'évaluer correctement les conséquences à la fois positives et négatives d'une action (Kambam et Thompson, 2009) est défi ciente chez les adolescents, ce qui constitue un argument au soutien de leur responsabilité morale réduite (Cauffman et Steinberg, 2000b). Par exemple, les adolescents utilisent un système d'évaluation des risques et des récompenses dans lequel moins de poids est attribué au risque qu'à la récompense (Steinberg et Scott, 2003), qui a pour conséquence une plus grande tendance à s'engager dans des comportements à risque (Gardner et Steinberg, 2005 ;Magar et al, 2008).…”