My research focuses on the development, assessment, and treatment of antisocial behavior and other types of externalizing problems in adolescence. I am particularly interested in applying research on normative and atypical development to issues with legal and social policy implications, and my current work examines adolescent development in the context of juvenile justice policy and practice. My recent work has examined developmental trajectories among delinquent populations, factors associated with female offending, and maturity of judgment as it develops during the course of adolescence (in both delinquent and non-delinquent populations). I have been especially interested in the relation between maturity of judgment and legal standards regarding autonomy, competence, accountability, and amenability to treatment.
Web Video on Current Research
Web Links of Research Sites
- Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab
- Center for Psychology and Law
- Research Opportunities (Undergraduate)
Web Links of Interest
- National Youth Screening Assistance Project (NYSAP)
- MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development & Juvenile Justice
- MacArthur Foundation Models for Change Initiative
- Pathways to Desistance
Recent Publications
*Asterisks denote current or former graduate students or postdoctoral scholars publishing research that was conducted under my supervision.
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*Shulman, E., Cauffman, E., Fagan, J. & Piquero, A. (in press). Moral disengagement among serious juvenile offenders: A longitudinal study of the relations between moral cognition and offending. Developmental Psychology.
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*Shulman, E. & Cauffman, E. (in press). Coping with incarceration: How do juvenile offenders adjust? Journal of Research on Adolescence.
- *Goldweber, A., Cauffman, E., *Dmitrieva, J., Piquero, A., & Steinberg, L. (in press). The development of criminal style in adolescence: Separating the lemmings from the loners. Journal of Youth & Adolescence.
- *Kimonis, E., Skeem, J., & Cauffman, E. (in press). Examining psychopathy variants in youth: Are secondary variants less stable and more violent than primary variants. Law & Human Behavior.
- Cauffman, E., *Shulman, E., Steinberg, L., Claus, E., Banich, M., Woolard, J., & Graham, S. (2010). Age differences in sensitivity to the rewards and costs of a risky decision as indexed by performance on the Iowa gambling task. Developmental Psychology, 46, 193-207.
- *Monahan, K., Steinberg, L. & Cauffman, E. (2009). Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and desistance from antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1520-1530.
- Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., Woolard, J., Graham, S. & Banich, M. (2009). Are adolescents less mature than adults? Minors’ access to abortion, the juvenile death penalty, and the alleged APA “flip-flop”. American Psychologist, 64, 583-594.
- Cauffman, E., *Kimonis, E., *Dmitrieva, J., *Monahan, K. (2009). A multi-method assessment of juvenile psychopathy: Comparing the predictive utility of the PCL:YV, YPI, and NEO-PRI. Psychological Assessment, 21, 528-542.
- *Monahan, K., Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., & Mulvey, E. (2009). Trajectories of antisocial behavior and psychosocial maturity from adolescence to young adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1654-1668.
- Cauffman, E. (2008). Understanding the female offender. Future of Children, 18, 119-142.