Juvenile decertification in Philadelphia County: a model for jurisdiction-specific research

Although most states provide a “fail-safe” mechanism by which youth charged in adult court can be decertified back to the juvenile court’s jurisdiction, little research has examined how judges make decertification decisions. This study examined the legal files of 144 juveniles charged as adults in Philadelphia County to examine the factors associated with decertification decisions. Results suggest that in making decertification decisions, the judge appears to have considered and weighted a number of complicated factors. Some risk factors for recidivism identified in previous research were not associated with the legal decision. Older youth, youth committing more serious offenses, youth with a history of probation, and youth described as less amenable to treatment were more likely to remain in adult court. Mental health information provided by the forensic evaluator, specifically substance use information and treatment recommendations, also were associated with the decertification decision.Ph.D., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 201

Then and now: comparing juveniles’ comprehension of the Miranda Warning in the 1970s and today

In addition to use in research, Grisso’s Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights (1998) have been used to help evaluate the validity of Miranda waivers in court proceedings and are commonly cited in testimony. Despite their extensive use, the admissibility of the instruments has been questioned in some cases because of the outdated vocabulary used and the assumption that Miranda comprehension has improved since the 1970s. To examine this assumption, the results of Grisso’s 1970s study were compared to data gathered from 183 21st century juvenile offenders. Twenty-first century youth were tested using the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments-II. Results indicated that scores on the two measures were comparable, and that juveniles today do not have better understanding of their rights than their counterparts in the 1970s. In fact, on some measures of understanding they showed significantly worse understanding. Verbal IQ continued to be the strongest predictor of Miranda rights comprehension in the 21st century. As in 1970s study, no relationship between Miranda comprehension and previous experience with the police was observed.M.S., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 200

An Empirical Evaluation of Experiential Learning

Given the recent proliferation of undergraduate psychology and law courses, there is an increased need to empirically evaluate effective methods of teaching psycholegal material. The current study used a between- and within-subject design across four higher education institutions (N = 291 students) to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating experiential learning activities in undergraduate psychology and law courses. Students who participated in the experiential activities performed significantly better than did control students on exam questions related to some, but not all, of the activities. In addition, experiential students consistently rated aspects of the course as more enjoyable than did control students. Results suggest that the inclusion of experiential learning activities has the potential to improve student performance and increase interest and motivation

Teaching Psychology and Law An Empirical: \u3ci\u3eEvaluation of Experiential Learning\u3c/i\u3e

Given the recent proliferation of undergraduate psychology and law courses, there is an increased need to empirically evaluate effective methods of teaching psycholegal material. The current study used a between- and within-subject design across four higher education institutions (N = 291 students) to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating experiential learning activities in undergraduate psychology and law courses. Students who participated in the experiential activities performed significantly better than did control students on exam questions related to some, but not all, of the activities. In addition, experiential students consistently rated aspects of the course as more enjoyable than did control students. Results suggest that the inclusion of experiential learning activities has the potential to improve student performance and increase interest and motivation

Teaching Psychology and Law An Empirical: \u3ci\u3eEvaluation of Experiential Learning\u3c/i\u3e

Given the recent proliferation of undergraduate psychology and law courses, there is an increased need to empirically evaluate effective methods of teaching psycholegal material. The current study used a between- and within-subject design across four higher education institutions (N = 291 students) to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating experiential learning activities in undergraduate psychology and law courses. Students who participated in the experiential activities performed significantly better than did control students on exam questions related to some, but not all, of the activities. In addition, experiential students consistently rated aspects of the course as more enjoyable than did control students. Results suggest that the inclusion of experiential learning activities has the potential to improve student performance and increase interest and motivation

Development of the Juvenile Justice Anger Management Treatment for Girls

Female juvenile offenders exhibit high levels of anger, relational aggression, and physical aggression, but the population has long been ignored in research and practice. No anger management treatments have been developed specifically for this population, and no established anger management treatments are empirically supported for use with delinquent girls. Thus, to alleviate anger and reduce the frequency and severity of aggressive behaviors in this underserved population, we developed the gender-specific, Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls. This cognitive-behavioral intervention was adapted from the Coping Power Program (Lochman & Wells, 2002), a school-based anger management treatment for younger children that has established efficacy and effectiveness findings with its target populations. This paper describes how the content of JJAM was developed to meet the unique needs of adolescent girls in residential juvenile justice placements. It also traces the process of developing a manualized treatment and the steps taken to enhance efficacy and clinical utility. An overview of the treatment, a session-by-session outline, an example session activity, and an example homework assignment are provided. A randomized controlled trial is currently being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the JJAM Treatment for Girls