Written Testimony of Elizabeth Cauffman, Ph.D. and Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Ph.D. on Neurobiological Development in Teenagers and Emerging Adults

This written testimony from Elizabeth Cauffman, Ph.D. and Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Ph.D. discusses what developmental science says about the impact of brain development on adolescent risk taking, decision making, and susceptibility to social and peer influence as it relates to a young person’s culpability. The testimony also provides information on diversion and its impact on lower recidivism and improved public safety.  

Below is an excerpt from the Testimony: 

“In a summary of 20 years of research on adolescent and juvenile justice (Cauffman et al., 2024), it is clear that justice system responses need to take the developmental considerations described above into account. Specifically, although youth who commit crime should unquestionably face consequences for their offenses, the sanctions applied should be appropriate to the offender’s developmental status, amenability to future change, and degree of culpability (which may be lowered because of the diminished reasoning capacity implied by a lack of fully developed impulse control or ability to recognize long-term negative consequences of risky behavior). In addition, formal processing or incarceration as a means of deterrence or even rehabilitation is ineffective. In fact, more punitive sanctioning and incarceration can promote antisocial behavior and ensnare youth in trajectories of chronic offending (Cauffman, et. al 2021; Gatti et al. 2009). There are more effective alternatives to incarceration that address public safety concerns as well as serve the needs of the adolescent.”