The Neurobiological and Psychological Nature of ‘Adultification:’ Implications for Legal Decision-making in Cases Involving Adolescents

• In Event: Neurobiological Factors for Antisocial Behaviors Among Youth Samples

Abstract

Neurobiological and psychological research on the differences between adolescents and adults in criminology and psychology has provided insight into how distinctive developmental processes may contribute to juvenile involvement in crime and the legal system. Literature investigating these differences, particularly regarding deficits in psychological and brain development and their resulting implications for adolescent decision-making, has revealed that youth may require support as they navigate the legal system and that their innate vulnerabilities should potentially necessitate additional safeguards in such environments. However, biases such as adultification–which defines how certain youth, sometimes due to sociodemographic qualities, can be misunderstood as more competent and mature than is indicated by their adolescence–may risk these protections and lead some juveniles to be perceived as less vulnerable and more culpable for their actions before and during the legal process. This chapter discusses the reasons for and ramifications of the adultification of children by legal decision-makers, including how their misperceptions related to adultification can threaten protections for adolescents within various legal processes. Particularly, this chapter describes how judgments regarding juvenile competency, transfer, and sentencing can be misguided by erroneous views of the psychosocial maturity of juveniles who have made contact with the system.

Authors

• Isabella Polito, Rutgers University

• Colleen Berryessa, Rutgers University