title: Juveniles' competence to stand trial: a comparison of adolescents' and adults' capacities as trial defendants.
abstract: Abilities associated with adjudicative competence were assessed among 927 adolescents in juvenile detention facilities and community settings. Adolescents' abilities were compared to those of 466 young adults in jails and in the community. Participants at 4 locations across the United States completed a standardized measure of abilities relevant for competence to stand trial (the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool--Criminal Adjudication) as well as a new procedure for assessing psychosocial influences on legal decisions often required of defendants (MacArthur Judgment Evaluation). Youths aged 15 and younger performed more poorly than young adults, with a greater proportion manifesting a level of impairment consistent with that of persons found incompetent to stand trial. Adolescents also tended more often than young adults to make choices (e.g., about plea agreements) that reflected compliance with authority, as well as influences of psychosocial immaturity. Implications of these results for policy and practice are discussed, with an emphasis on the development of legal standards that recognize immaturity as a potential predicate of incompetence to stand trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grisso
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Woolard
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cauffman
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Fran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lexcen
authors.forename: N Dickon
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Reppucci
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D014481:United States