In this article, we summarize key findings from 20 years of research conducted at the intersection of developmental psychology and juvenile justice in the United States. We predominantly examine data from two large-scale, multisite longitudinal studies involving justice-system-involved adolescents—the Pathways to Desistance study and the Crossroads study. Topics of discussion include predictors of offending and desistance from crime; youth outcomes and psychosocial needs; and emerging research, programs, and policy initiatives. First, individual-level (e.g., age, psychosocial maturity) and contextual-level (e.g., antisocial peers, exposure to violence) risk factors associated with offending are explored. Second, we discuss short-term and long-term outcomes of justice-system contact for youths engaging in moderate offenses. We highlight main findings from the Crossroads study indicating that youths who are sanctioned by the justice system at their first arrest have worse outcomes than youths who are diverted from formal processing. Additionally, we discuss the high prevalence of youths’ exposure to violence and mental health disorders as well as the differential treatment of youths of color in the justice system. Third, we extend the conversation to justice-system-involved young adults and discuss emerging, innovative legal solutions, including young adult courts. Last, we discuss real-world implications of these findings.

中文翻译：

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青少年接触，持久影响？两项纵向研究的经验教训，涵盖 20 年对涉及司法系统的青少年的发展科学研究

在本文中，我们总结了美国 20 年来在发展心理学和青少年司法交叉领域进行的研究的主要发现。我们主要检查来自两项涉及司法系统青少年的大规模、多地点纵向研究的数据——“终结之路”研究和“十字路口”研究。讨论的主题包括犯罪的预测因素和阻止犯罪的因素；青年成果和社会心理需求；以及新兴的研究、计划和政策举措。首先，探讨了与犯罪相关的个人层面（例如，年龄、社会心理成熟度）和背景层面（例如，反社会同伴、接触暴力）风险因素。其次，我们讨论了针对从事轻度犯罪的青少年与司法系统接触的短期和长期结果。我们强调十字路口研究的主要发现，该研究表明，第一次被捕时受到司法系统制裁的青少年的结果比不接受正式处理的青少年的结果更糟糕。此外，我们还讨论了青少年遭受暴力和心理健康障碍的高发率，以及司法系统中对有色人种青少年的差别待遇。第三，我们将对话范围扩大到涉及司法系统的年轻人，并讨论新兴的创新法律解决方案，包括年轻人法庭。最后，我们讨论这些发现对现实世界的影响。