Adolescent Brain
Development/Risk
Assessment: USC Lifer
Parole Process
Nancy Kaser-Boyd, Ph.D., ABAP
nkbforensics@gmail.com
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Associate Clinical Professor, Geffen School of Medicine at
UCLA, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human
Behavior.
Forensic training at U.S.C. Institute of Psychiatry and
Law
Board Certified, American Board of Assessment
Psychology
Member, Los Angeles County Superior Court Psychiatric
Expert Panels (Delinquency, Criminal, Competency,
Dependency)
Author and Lecturer on Adolescent Brain Development
Author and Lecturer on Trauma and its Effects.
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Juveniles who commit murder can still serve life
without parole in prison [Moffett, 2014]. In the
United States there are 2,270 children convicted
of crimes serving life without parole. In
California there are at least 200.
Over 6,500 people currently in California prisons
were under the age of 18 at the time of their
crime.
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The language of Roper v. Simmons and the APA Amicus
Brief, filed on behalf of the minor Simmons, gave us
language that is a roadmap for our assessments of
adolescents in the criminal justice system, yet many
psychologists are not aware of this language, or the
critical psychological/developmental research, nor have
they considered ways to assess and opine about the
limitations of adolescents that Roper v. Simmons
outlined. This may be true for psychologists doing
reports for the Parole Board.
Roper v. Simmons cites prior cases which began
to define the differences between adolescents and
adults…
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“Their own vulnerability and comparative
lack of control over their immediate
surroundings means juveniles have a
greater claim than adults to be forgiven
for failing to escape negative influences in
their whole environment.
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Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989)
Roper v. Simmons, 2005
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“Three general differences between
juveniles under 18 and adults demonstrate
that juvenile offenders cannot with
reliability be classified among the worst
offenders.”
Roper v. Simmons, 2005
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First, “As any parent knows and as the scientific
and sociological studies in his Amicus confirm ‘a
lack of maturity and an undeveloped sense of
responsibility are found in youth more often
than in adults and are more understandable
among the young. These qualities often result
in impetuous and ill-considered actions and
decisions…..Adolescents are overrepresented
statistically in virtually every category of reckless
behavior.’”
Roper v. Simmons, 2005
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Second, “Juveniles are more vulnerable or
susceptible to negative influences and
outside pressures, including peer
pressure.
Roper v. Simmons, 2005
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Third, “the character of a juvenile is not as
well formed as that of an adult. The
personality traits of juveniles are more
transitory and less fixed…..Only a
relatively small proportion of adolescents
who experiment in risky or illegal activities
develop entrenched patterns of problem
behavior that persist into adulthood.”
Roper v. Simmons, 2005
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“It is difficult even for expert psychologists
to differentiate between the juvenile
offender whose crime reflects unfortunate
yet transient immaturity, and the rare
juvenile offender whose crime reflects
irreparable corruption.”
Roper v. Simmons and the APA Amicus Brief,
combined, outline the ways adolescents are
different than adults…
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Immaturity
Impulsivity/Recklessness
Susceptibility to outside pressures
Poor attention to consequences
Personality still in formation
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We should be mindful of these differences
from beginning to end in a minor’s
transition through the justice system.
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Their ability to understand Miranda Warning.
The voluntariness of their confessions.
Their competence to stand trial
Their mental state and limitations at the time
of their crime.
Their amenability to treatment.
Their suitability for parole.
Miranda Warnings
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Grisso (1981) reported on 491 cases
referred to juvenile court. He found that
only 9% exercised their right to silence.
91% agreed to talk to the police,
potentially incriminating themselves by
confession or denial. Asked why they
waived their rights, most indicated that
they did so because they were concerned
about their immediate predicament and
feared that silence would indicate guilt.
Voluntariness of Confessions
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Adolescents are more likely than adults to make
false confessions. Gudjonsson in Europe has
conducted a number of studies of false
confession and found that adolescents are more
likely than adults to make false confessions.
They are particularly sensitive to interrogative
pressure and negative feedback from authority
figures.
Voluntariness of Confessions
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Police interrogations are situations that
define social pressure and dictate
compliance.
Gudjonsson indicates that compliance is
comprised of two components:
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An eagerness to please
A desire to avoid confrontation with others.
Voluntariness of Confessions
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Grisso, et. al (2003) conducted a study with
1,400 youths and adults with a vignette in which
they were asked the best choice for the
character: confessing, denying, or remaining
silent. More than half of all 11 – 13 year olds
chose confession. The proportion who made
this choice diminished with age, to one-fifth of
adults, which is still high. In a second similar
study with boys aged 13-18 in a residential
facility, 25% said they would give a false
confession.
Voluntariness of Confessions
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Goldstein, et al (2003) found that
willingness to confess falsely was more
pronounced among 13-15 year olds than
among 16-18 year olds.
Drizin & Colgan (2004)and Redlich, et. al.
(2004) found that adolescents varied in
suggestibility, and that those higher on
suggestibility were more likely to give
false confessions.
Competence to Stand Trial
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MacArthur Juvenile Adjudicative
Competence Study:
Examined the abilities of 927 adolescents
in six juvenile detention facilities and in
the community (ages 12-17), comparing
their abilities to 466 young adults in jail
and in the community (ages 18-24).
Conducted in 4 locations across the U.S.
Competence to Stand Trial…
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Used two structured assessment tools:
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MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool
(Poythress, et. al., 1999)
MacArthur Judgment Evaluation (Grisso,
2003)
Measured intelligence was strongly related
to performance.
Competence to Stand Trial…
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Adolescents 15 or younger performed
more poorly on average than young adults
and more like adults who had been found
incompetent to stand trial. One-third of
youths aged 13 and younger had a
significant level of impairment, while 16 to
17 year olds were not significantly
different than adults.
Competence to Stand Trial…
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Adolescents tended to make choices that
were different than adults, e.g., the
younger the subject, the more likely to
accept a plea and make decisions that
complied with authority. Their reasons for
doing so were more focused on present
benefits than long-term consequences.
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(Grisso, 2003)
Maturity and Brain Development
The brain’s frontal lobes don’t begin to mature until 17 and
likely do not begin to resemble the brains of adults until the
early 20’s
The frontal lobes are responsible for:
“Executive functioning”
Reasoning
Problem-Solving
Anticipating consequences
Controlling impulses
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“The very part of the brain that is judged by the
legal system comes on board late.” (Gurr)
Cortical and subcortical structures responsible
for emotion—including the amygdala and other
structures in the limbic region—are more active
in children and adolescents than in adults
(Giedd, et. al., Sowell, et. al., 2003)
Longitudinal MRI studies have allowed researchers
to track individual brains as they develop
through adolescence by observing them at
periodic intervals; for example, Giedd, et.al.
(1999) studied 145 children and adolescents up
to five times over approximately 10 years:
“The size of the frontal lobes is not largely altered,
but their composition, consisting of gray and
white brain matter, undergoes dynamic change
while cognitive functioning improves”
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This is followed by “pruning” in which gray
matter is pared down during the teen
years, shaping the brain’s neural
connections.” (Sowell, 2001).
Maturity….
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Goldberg (2001) studied minors aged 5
through 17 and found white matter within
the prefrontal area of the frontal lobes
steadily increased with age, likely
reflecting the advances of myelination (a
protective covering).
Maturity…
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Gogtay, et. al. (2004) at NIMH rescanned
with MRIs 13 children and adolescents,
ages 4 to 21, every two years over the
course of a 10-year period and found
“regionally relevant milestones in cognitive
and functional development…..The areas
later to mature were areas involved in
executive function—the frontal lobes.”
The frontal lobes were the last to mature.
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There is an increase in white matter and
an increase in the organization of white
matter during adolescense. Paus (1999)
using MRI, demonstrated that neuronal
tracts connecting different regions of the
brain thickened as they were coated with
a protective sheath of myelin during
adolescence.
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Schmithorst (2002), also using MRI,
examined the brains of 33 children and
teens from age 5 to 18. During
adolescence, neuronal tracts funneled up
from the spinal tract, through the
brainstem, and into the cortex. He said,
“The brain is getting more organized and
dense with age.”
Impulsivity/Recklessness
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APA Amicus Brief: “Adolescents as a
group are over-represented in virtually
every category of reckless behavior.”
Moffitt (1994), studying delinquent
behavior in a longitudinal design, found a
steep increase in antisocial behavior
between ages 7 and 17, and a steep
decrease in antisocial behavior between
17 and 30.
Susceptibility to Outside Pressures
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APA Amicus Brief: “Adolescent behavior is also
affected by its social context. Peer behaviors
are a very important aspect of delinquent
involvement.”
“Delinquent behavior, peer associations, and
delinquent beliefs together influence each
other.”
Dept. of Justice Study (Hawkins, et. al., 2000):
Delinquent peers a substantial risk factor for
juvenile violence.
Poor Attention to Consequences
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APA Amicus Brief: “Behavioral studies indicate that
adolescents often undervalue the true consequences of
their actions. Instead, adolescents as a group often
value impulsivity, fun-seeking, and peer approval more
than adults do”
“Levels of planning and thinking about the future
increase as adolescents grow older.”
Cauffman & Steinberg, 2000: A dramatic change in
behavior occurs in normal adolescents some time
between 16 and 19, especially with respect to
“perspective-taking and “temperance.”
Forensic Assessment Implications
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Extrapolate from adolescents in general to
the individual by evaluating maturity
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Was there evidence of development delay in
IQ testing?
Was there a history of functioning two or
more grade levels behind peers?
Were there conditions of
childhood/adolescence that cause emotional
immaturity, (e.g, child abuse).
Psychosocial Maturity (Cauffman and Steinberg,
2000)
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Responsibility
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Perspective
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Internal control and independence
Ability to see long-term and short-term
consequences and the impact of one’s
behavior on others.
Temperence
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Impulse control and restraint
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How to evaluate maturity?
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Insight
Acquired skills
Problem-solving capacity
Behavioral Control
Value system (moral development)
Feasible Plans
What in the heck is ‘insight’?
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Classic Definition: “With perfect insight there is
recognition of the abnormality through which
the patient has passed” (MacCurdy)
For Offenders: How did her “issues” ultimately
lead to the offense?
BPH EVALUATIONS
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Was the evaluator aware of what happened at trial?
(e.g., Was a confession used to convict? Was there an
adequate psychological evaluation?)
Did the evaluator address the four factors of Roper v.
Simmons in understanding the developmental immaturity
of the inmate at the time of the crime?
Did the evaluator chose appropriate test instruments to
evaluate current personality health/pathology?
Methodological Problems..
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Absence of standard psychological testing
to evaluate “personality disorder.”
The use of the PCL-R.
The use of the HCR-20.
Sentencing….
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Edens (2001), citing a wealth of psychological research, states:
“To date, there have been no published longitudinal studies of the
stability of psychopathy, as assessed by the PCL or other
assessment tools (Child Psychopathy Scale, P-Scan, Psychopathic
Personaltiy Inventory), from early adolescence through adulthood.
“It is unclear to what extent some juveniles identified as psychopathic
– particularly those whose classifications resulted primarily from
elevations on the socially deviant lifestyle factor – may be more
representative of the “adolescent-limited” type of offender whose
antisocial behavior is likely to desist following adolescence. This
fact alone would bar the courts from making consequential, longterm decisions about a juvenile offender based on a single
assessment of psychopathy during teenage years.”
The HCR-20: Problems
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Interpreting and coding the items
Reliability and validity of Structured
Professonal Judgements
Lack of norms
Absence of decision-making guidelines
Lack of transparency