Papers by Jennifer Woolard
Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 2021
Several states have proposed changes to how their legal system responds to young or emerging adul... more Several states have proposed changes to how their legal system responds to young or emerging adults. Scholars, policy makers, and advocates have highlighted the developmental and behavioral similarities between juvenile and emerging adults when arguing that emerging adults should be treated differently from adults. This experimental study relies on data from 277 participants recruited via Amazon Mturk to examine how lay people respond to the presentation of developmental science evidence as support for such policy changes. The results indicate that science may be an effective tool for motivating some people's perceptions, but not all. Liberals who reviewed developmental science evidence were more likely to support general policy changes targeting emerging adults. Liberals were also more likely to find emerging adults less culpable after reviewing developmental science evidence. Moderates and conservatives were not responsive to developmental science evidence supporting policy change. Furthermore, while many were in favor of treating emerging adults differently than older adults, very few thought they should automatically be treated within the juvenile justice system.
Translational Issues in Psychological Science
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
This study examined how detained youths’ ( N = 98) actual experiences with the law, including fre... more This study examined how detained youths’ ( N = 98) actual experiences with the law, including frequency of contact with the police and knowledge about the Miranda warning and interrogation practices, relate to their perceptions of support, fairness, and trust toward the police. Results show that more police contacts were associated with lower perceived obligation to obey the law and higher cynicism toward the law and also moderated the relationships between age and police legitimacy and race/ethnicity and police legitimacy and procedural justice. Comprehension of the Miranda warning was associated with lower perceived obligation to obey the law and procedural justice, and knowledge about police interrogation practices was associated with lower perceived police legitimacy. These findings suggest the potential of legal socialization as a mechanism for intervention among offending adolescents; programs that promote positive youth–police interactions may help minimize negative attitudes...
Children and Youth Services Review
In the past several years, there has been a growing movement towards family-driven initiatives in... more In the past several years, there has been a growing movement towards family-driven initiatives in many child-serving agencies, including the juvenile justice system. These initiatives underscore the importance of parental involvement in successful rehabilitation of at-risk and offending youth and highlight the unique role of parents to influence and inspire their child's behavior. Despite a growing consensus on the importance of parental involvement in juvenile justice processes, little empirical research has explored the nature of parental involvement in the juvenile justice system. This study examined parents' (n = 87) perceptions of relationship quality and interaction with probation officers, parenting strategies, and how these factors related to youth's compliance on probation. Findings revealed that parents generally had positive relationships with probation officers characterized as supportive, fair, respectful, and helpful towards youth. Most parents also employed practices such as use of reminders and encouragement to promote youth's compliance on probation. Parents' perceptions of probation officers' helpfulness toward youth were associated with decreased used of parenting practices that encourage probation compliance. However, parents' perceptions of supportive, respectful, and fair relationships with probation officers were associated with increased use of parenting practices that promote probation compliance. Supportive, fair, and respectful relationships with probation officers were also linked to fewer counts of technical violations of probation, but not new delinquent offenses, among offending youth. Implications for research, practice, and policy around the potential of collaborative relationships between parents and probation officers in facilitating successful probation outcomes are discussed.
Deviant Behavior, 2016
Although white-collar professionals are often held in high esteem, sometimes persons in privilege... more Although white-collar professionals are often held in high esteem, sometimes persons in privileged positions engage in misconduct. Unfortunately, very little is known about the correlates associated with professional misconduct and even less is known about the sanctioning process among lawyers who are licensed by state bar associations and therefore subject to the bar rules regulating their professional conduct. We examine 213 complaints filed in one fiscal year with the Florida Bar alleging attorney misconduct and evaluate the factors that influence whether the complaint continued through or was discarded at each stage of the self-regulated grievance process. Using selection models that examine both the staff's decision to send a case forward to the grievance committee as well as the grievance committee's recommendation about sanctioning the lawyer, results show that both legal and extra-legal variables are related to these two processes. Most research on deviant behaviors has been primarily concerned with the imposition of sanctions among street criminals. Sutherland's (1942) call to focus more (or at least as much) attention on the crimes committed by persons in occupations and/or of privileged status notwithstanding, theoretical and empirical research has not quite kept pace. Although there are
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Apr 4, 2008
Page 1. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Examining Adolescents' and their Parents' Conceptual... more Page 1. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Examining Adolescents' and their Parents' Conceptual and Practical Knowledge of Police Interrogation: A Family Dyad Approach Jennifer L. Woolard Æ Hayley MD Cleary Æ Samantha AS Harvell Æ Rusan Chen ...
Journal of youth and adolescence, Jan 20, 2015
As a community-based sanction, juvenile probation exemplifies the potential of both communities a... more As a community-based sanction, juvenile probation exemplifies the potential of both communities and families to make significant contributions in promoting positive changes among offending youth. Yet, surprisingly little research has explored the nature of these relationships and its association with offending. This study (1) examined the associations between youth-officer relationships, youth perceptions of parental support and knowledge, and probation non-compliance and (2) explored the role of parental support and knowledge as moderators of the association between youth-officer relationships and probation non-compliance among 110 youth supervised on probation (23 % females; 60 % African American). The findings showed that tough or punitive youth-officer relationships were associated with greater counts of technical violations, but fewer counts of delinquent offenses. Parental support was associated with fewer counts of delinquent offenses and parental knowledge was associated wit...
"UMI number: 9840360"--T.p. verso. Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Virginia, 1998. Include... more "UMI number: 9840360"--T.p. verso. Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Virginia, 1998. Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-80). Photocopy.
APA handbook of forensic psychology, Vol. 2: Criminal investigation, adjudication, and sentencing outcomes., 2015
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Papers by Jennifer Woolard