Ongoing Research

​Crossroads Study

The goal of the Crossroads Study (PIs: Elizabeth Cauffman, Paul J. Frick, Laurence Steinberg) is to create an empirical foundation for developing decision-making guidelines for juvenile justice professionals that serve the best interest of the community, the taxpayers, and delinquent youths. The study follows 1,200 male juvenile offenders (ages 13-17) of different degrees of justice system involvement biannually over three years following an arrest in Philadelphia, PA; Jefferson Parish, LA; and Orange County, CA. 

Psychobiology of Callous-Unemotional Traits

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of empathy, deficient guilt/remorse, and shallow affect) are a robust risk factor for delinquent behavior. Compared to other antisocial youth, youth with elevated CU traits are more likely to engage in risky and aggressive behavior, which in turn increases their likelihood of justice system involvement.  The proposed two-part dissertation seeks to better understand how CU traits predispose youth to delinquent behavior by examining the hormones thought to underlie the emotional and cognitive differences exhibited by youth with elevated CU traits.