Five-Year Trends in Juvenile Adjudicative Competency Evaluations: One State's Consideration of Developmental Immaturity, Age, and Psychopathology

• Published in: Journal of forensic psychology research and practice Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 18 - 39
• Main Authors: McCormick, Patricia C., Thomas, Benjamin, Van Horn, Stephanie, Manguso, Rose, Oehler, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.01.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: adjudicative competence; Age; competence to stand trial; developmental immaturity; Juvenile competence; juvenile defendants; Psychopathology; Teenagers
• ISSN: 2473-2850; 2473-2842
• DOI: 10.1080/24732850.2020.1804306

Juvenile adjudicative competency evaluations are on the rise, but basing decisions of competency on developmental factors remains highly debated. Most states do not provide explicit guidelines to address developmental factors within juvenile competency statutes despite substantial evidence demonstrating the impact of age and developmental immaturity on competence-related functional abilities. Examination of 649 archived juvenile competency to proceed evaluations in Colorado (from the years 2014-2018) furthered our understanding of the degree to which factors such as age, psychopathology, and developmental immaturity are considered by evaluators determining juvenile adjudicative competence. Based off of existing literature, we hypothesized that juveniles with neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disabilities, a younger age, and a lack of developmental maturity would have higher rates of incompetence. Results demonstrated that evaluators were more likely to opine incompetence in adolescents with an intellectual disability (84.8%) or neurodevelopmental disorder (71.8%). Youth aged 12 and younger were more likely to be opined incompetent (OR = 3.21) and were rated as having a poorer or more guarded prognosis for restoration (OR = 2.01) compared to older adolescents. Furthermore, developmental immaturity was cited most frequently in this younger age group. The identification of salient factors considered by evaluators may inform policy, practice, and adolescent-based competency restoration efforts.