This video and transcript are presented for a webinar sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which consists of a team presentation of the early findings and methodology of a longitudinal study on the relationship between the developing brain and juvenile delinquency and victimization.
The study is entitled the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development – Social Development Study (ABCD-SD). The ABCD-SD protocol measures an array of delinquency and victimization-related risks, protective factors, and outcomes. One of the speakers is Barbara Tatem Kelley, who serves as the NIJ Social Science Research Analyst on the ABCD-SD. She introduces the three panelists who discuss the study and provides an overview of other NIJ=sponsored longitudinal research in the past or currently, including research sponsored by an NIJ sister agency, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). She also comments briefly on five key characteristics of the ABCD-SD. The three panel members are Duncan Clark, Lia Ahonen, and Ashley Parr, all from the University of Pittsburgh. Clark notes the broad aim of the ABCD Study, which encompasses the brain, cognitive, emotional, academic, and physical health development from late childhood through late adolescence. In the 21 U.S. sites, recruitment was centrally managed and monitored. It was primarily conducted through school systems, enabling a large, diverse sample. Clark also discusses other aspects of the study methodology. Lia Ahonen discusses the areas of assessment, which include delinquency, victimization, and protective factors. A focus is the extent to which premorbid brain structure and function deficits identify vulnerabilities for delinquency and substance use. Ashley Parr focuses on new translational work with the ABCD-SD data, which takes a neurodevelopmental approach to understanding the emergence and persistence of delinquent behaviors in late childhood and adolescence.