Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Laura River

Second Advisor

Jennifer McMahon

Third Advisor

Lexi Sliva

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Keywords

Juvenile justice, Developmental assessments, Developmental science, Transfer decisions, Adolescent brain maturation, Incarceration

Abstract

The transfer of youth between juvenile courts and adult courts is one of the most consequential decisions made in the American legal system, as it will influence the youth’s legal outcomes, developmental trajectories, and long-term well-being. Advances in adolescent brain science show that there are many factors associated with youthful offending, including developmental immaturity, susceptibility to external influences, and ongoing neurobiological development—all of which are related to age, rather than being fixed criminal traits. Despite this growing body of evidence, legal decision-making in juvenile transfer and sentencing does not consistently incorporate individualized developmental data. This paper examines the important role of identifying and assessing developmental data to make informed decisions about juvenile transfers. In this way, assessment can promote more equitable and developmentally informed decisions for juvenile offenders. Part One traces the evolution of the juvenile court and discusses key Supreme Court decisions that relied on developmental science to recognize diminished culpability of adolescent offenders. Part Two synthesizes advances in adolescent brain science and common characteristics of justice-involved youth. Part Three reviews the harms of adult incarceration for youth. Part Four translates developmental science into practice by proposing a framework for integrating developmentally informed assessments into juvenile justice transfer decisions.

Copyright Date

7-1-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Carly F. Colman

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

55 pgs

File Size

405 KB

Download



Share

COinS