Imprisonment of Juveniles and Adolescents: Deficits and Demands for Developmental Research

It is argued that the investigation of the consequences of imprisonment of juveniles and adolescents requires a developmental point of view because youth incarceration is legitimated only as a developmental intervention. However, before reflecting on the developmental impact of youth incarceration, it is necessary to consider who is sentenced to this punishment because juveniles sentenced to prison represent a highly selective subgroup of their age cohort. Thus, the first section of this article aims at briefly reviewing what is currently known about the development of juvenile delinquency. The second section summarizes the literature on the effects of imprisonment in general. It is concluded that very little is known on the psychological effects of imprisonment on juveniles and adolescents. The third section of the article aims to sketch a theoretical framework for the investigation of the developmental effects of incarceration of delinquent juveniles. In particular, 3 core concepts are focused on, namely coping, identity, and action. Finally, methodological as well as practical recommendations are offered.