Abnormal Child Psychology: Juvenile Offenders

Juvenile Offenders

• Dr. Joy M. Bolger, M.S. LMHC EdD, Stony Brook University Department of Psychology.

Context

• Approximately 10% of violent crimes (VC) in the U.S. are committed by juveniles.
• Committing serious violent crimes is not a common behavior for juveniles.
• Less than 10% of juvenile offenders are responsible for over 50% of all juvenile violent offenses (VOs).
• Reoffending typically peaks in late adolescence and begins to decline, though some offenders continue throughout their lives; most will not continue offending.

Differences Between Adolescent and Adult Offenders

• Adolescents differ fundamentally from adults in:
  • Cognitive ability
  • Emotion regulation
  • Behavioral control
  • Inhibitory control
  • Consequential thinking

Psychosocial Factors: The Importance of Belonging

• Peer relationships are more critical to adolescents than at any other time of life.
  • Provide opportunities for social comparison and information.
• Reference Group:
  • A group of people with whom one compares oneself.
  • Reference groups present norms or standards against which adolescents judge their social success.
• Desire for increased independence by the teen years.
• Even with healthy parental attachment, teens prefer spending time with friends.

Peer Relationships During Adolescence

• Affiliation with delinquent peers is one of the strongest predictors of delinquent behavior in adolescence.
• Adolescent behavior is often governed more by the emotional centers than the thinking centers of the brain, especially during high-arousal situations and in the presence of peers.

Peer Dimension: Risky Behavior

• Experiment:
  • Examined age differences and the effect of peer context on risky decision-making using a computerized driving task (