When do children's brains fully develop that is the question many people like to debate. Currently our juvenile justice system thinks it's justifiable to try children ranging in age from 10-16 in adult court. While research shows that children's brains don't develop well into their 20's. So why are we still trying children as adults? Why are we silent on such a serious matter in America? What is the impact on these children, their families, and our communities? Those are all answers I have been searching for and I am going to also share some of the answers and research with you in order to bring awareness to what we are ignoring.
In the past, many experts believed that the brain may have been done developing in the mid to late teens. These days, a consensus of neuroscientists agree that brain development likely persists until at least the mid-20s – possibly until the 30s. All behaviors and experiences you endure until the age of 25 have potential to impact your developing brain. It may seem logical that those aged 18 to 25 are completely mature, the brain still is maturing – specifically the area known as the “prefrontal cortex.” Changes occurring between ages 18 and 25 are essentially a continued process of brain development that started during puberty. When you’re 18, you’re roughly halfway through the entire stage of development. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25.
This means that some people may have major struggles with impulsive decisions and planning behavior to reach a goal. The brain’s reward system tends to reach a high level of activation during puberty, then gradually drifts back to normal activation when a person reaches roughly the age of 25. Adults over the age of 25 tend to feel less sensitive to the influence of peer pressure and have a much easier time handling it.There are a variety of functions for which the prefrontal cortex is responsible. Although significant development of the prefrontal region occurs during adolescence, experts argue that it continues until (at least) our mid 20s.
It can be difficult to offer quality mental health treatment in corrections facilities, because prisoners are reluctant to open up in environments where they do not feel physically or psychologically safe. Also, the transition to care outside of prisons often is spotty. "Prisoners essentially fall out of the system because there's not an effective pass-off to the service providers in the community,". Treatment for mental health — as well as medical conditions — also is less effective in privately run prisons (about 10
percent of prisons), which may see medical treatment as a place to cut costs, the report says.
Mental health professionals are often unable to mitigate fully the harm associated with isolation. Mental health services in segregation units are typically limited to psychotropic medication, a health care clinician stopping at the cell front to ask how the prisoner is doing (i.e., mental health rounds), and occasional meetings in private with a clinician. Individual therapy; group therapy; structured educational, recreational, or life-skill-enhancing activities; and other therapeutic interventions are usually not available because of insufficient resources and rules requiring prisoners to remain in their cells.
The use of segregation to confine the mentally ill has grown as the number and proportion of prisoners with mental illness have grown. Although designed and operated as places of punishment, prisons have nonetheless become de facto psychiatric facilities despite often lacking the needed mental health services. Studies and clinical experience consistently indicate that 8 to 19 percent of prisoners have psychiatric disorders that result in significant functional disabilities, and another 15 to 20 percent require some form of psychiatric intervention during their incarceration. Sixty percent of state correctional systems responding to a survey on inmate mental health reported that 15 percent or more of their inmate population had a diagnosed mental illness.
People with untreated serious brain disorders comprise approximately 16 percent of the total jail and prison inmate population, or nearly 319,000 individuals. These individuals are often incarcerated with misdemeanor charges but sometimes with felony charges as a result of behaviors caused by their psychotic thinking. People with untreated psychiatric illnesses spend twice as much time in jail as non-ill individuals and are more likely to commit suicide.he longer individuals with serious brain disorders go untreated, the more uncertain their prospects for long-term recovery become. Recent studies have suggested that early treatment may lead to better clinical outcomes, while delaying treatment leads to worse outcomes. For example:
A 1997 study from California (Wyatt et. al.) compared people with schizophrenia who received psychotherapy alone (89 patients) versus those who received antipsychotic medications (92 patients); those who received medications had much better outcomes three and seven years later.
A 1998 study from England (Hopkins et. al.) revealed that delusions and hallucinations among patients suffering from psychosis increased in severity the longer treatment was withheld from the time of the initial psychotic break (51 patients were included in the study).
A 1994 study from New York (Liebeman et. al.) showed that the longer a patient waited to receive treatment for a psychotic episode, the longer it took to get the illness into remission (70 patients were included in the study).
A 1998 study from Italy (Tondo et. al.) demonstrated that the sooner patients were started on lithium for their manic-depressive illness, the greater their improvement became (317 patients participated in the study).
Isolation can be psychologically harmful to any prisoner, with the nature and severity of the impact depending on the individual, the duration, and particular conditions (e.g., access to natural light, books, or radio). Psychological effects can include anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and psychosis.The adverse effects of solitary confinement are especially significant for persons with serious mental illness, commonly defined as a major mental disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder) that is usually characterized by psychotic symptoms and/or significant functional impairments. The stress, lack of meaningful social contact, and unstructured days can exacerbate symptoms of illness or provoke recurrence.Suicides occur disproportionately more often in segregation units than elsewhere in prison. All too frequently, mentally ill prisoners decompensate in isolation, requiring crisis care or psychiatric hospitalization. Many simply will not get better as long as they are isolated.
In the past, many experts believed that the brain may have been done developing in the mid to late teens. These days, a consensus of neuroscientists agree that brain development likely persists until at least the mid-20s – possibly until the 30s. All behaviors and experiences you endure until the age of 25 have potential to impact your developing brain. It may seem logical that those aged 18 to 25 are completely mature, the brain still is maturing – specifically the area known as the “prefrontal cortex.” Changes occurring between ages 18 and 25 are essentially a continued process of brain development that started during puberty. When you’re 18, you’re roughly halfway through the entire stage of development. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25.
This means that some people may have major struggles with impulsive decisions and planning behavior to reach a goal. The brain’s reward system tends to reach a high level of activation during puberty, then gradually drifts back to normal activation when a person reaches roughly the age of 25. Adults over the age of 25 tend to feel less sensitive to the influence of peer pressure and have a much easier time handling it.There are a variety of functions for which the prefrontal cortex is responsible. Although significant development of the prefrontal region occurs during adolescence, experts argue that it continues until (at least) our mid 20s.
- Attention: The ability to focus on one thing, while ignoring distractions is a function of our prefrontal cortex. Those with attentional deficits (e.g.
ADHD ) may have abnormalities within the prefrontal region. Similarly, those whoabuse drugs and/or alcohol may end up with attention problems as the brain forms.
- Complex planning: The prefrontal region is responsible for complex planning. Anytime you set a goal that requires some degree of planning, your prefrontal region is at work. Planning out tasks in your day, developing
a business plan , etc. – this region is responsible. An underdeveloped prefrontal region means that your planning capabilities haven’t been solidified.
- Decision making: We often struggle to make good decisions when we are teenagers, but as we
enter our 20s, our decision making improves. This is due to the fact that our prefrontal cortex helps us think logically and make more calculated assessments of situations. Our brain weighs the risks and tells us whether a certain behavior or choice is a good idea vs. a bad one.
- Impulse control: Struggling with impulsivity is often related to deficits in the prefrontal cortex. The ability to maintain self-discipline and avoid impulsive behaviors hasn’t reached its peak until the 20s. This means that if you struggle with impulsivity when you’re 18, it may get better as you
continue to age.
- Logical thinking: Justifying behaviors based off of emotions rather than logic is common among teens. When the prefrontal cortex fully develops, logical thinking simultaneously improves. This means you will be better at rationalizing and making smarter choices. It also means that your ability to write and solve math problems will improve.
- Organized thinking: Organizing your thinking can be difficult when you’re a teen. A barrage of thoughts are typically influenced by hormones and you may have concentration difficulties. As you continue to age and your thoughts become more organized. The organization of your thoughts is a result of your prefrontal cortex.
- Personality development: Your personality is directly expressed based off of your prefrontal cortex. Without proper stimulation, you may struggle with identity issues and developing a favorable personality. Since personality development continues throughout the 20s, you may want to consider how environmental inputs may affect who you are.
- Risk management: The ability to assess risky situations and determine whether they will result in long-term benefit is a byproduct of your prefrontal cortex. Those who are poor at assessing risk may have underdeveloped prefrontal regions. The ability to turn down immediate gratification for long-term rewards is a result of this region.
- Short-term memory: Your short-term memory function is influenced by the prefrontal cortex. When still in development, your short-term memory isn’t as good as it will be by the time you’re 25. As the brain continues to mature, your cognitive function and memorization capacity will improve.
It can be difficult to offer quality mental health treatment in corrections facilities, because prisoners are reluctant to open up in environments where they do not feel physically or psychologically safe. Also, the transition to care outside of prisons often is spotty. "Prisoners essentially fall out of the system because there's not an effective pass-off to the service providers in the community,". Treatment for mental health — as well as medical conditions — also is less effective in privately run prisons (about 10
percent of prisons), which may see medical treatment as a place to cut costs, the report says.
Mental health professionals are often unable to mitigate fully the harm associated with isolation. Mental health services in segregation units are typically limited to psychotropic medication, a health care clinician stopping at the cell front to ask how the prisoner is doing (i.e., mental health rounds), and occasional meetings in private with a clinician. Individual therapy; group therapy; structured educational, recreational, or life-skill-enhancing activities; and other therapeutic interventions are usually not available because of insufficient resources and rules requiring prisoners to remain in their cells.
The use of segregation to confine the mentally ill has grown as the number and proportion of prisoners with mental illness have grown. Although designed and operated as places of punishment, prisons have nonetheless become de facto psychiatric facilities despite often lacking the needed mental health services. Studies and clinical experience consistently indicate that 8 to 19 percent of prisoners have psychiatric disorders that result in significant functional disabilities, and another 15 to 20 percent require some form of psychiatric intervention during their incarceration. Sixty percent of state correctional systems responding to a survey on inmate mental health reported that 15 percent or more of their inmate population had a diagnosed mental illness.
People with untreated serious brain disorders comprise approximately 16 percent of the total jail and prison inmate population, or nearly 319,000 individuals. These individuals are often incarcerated with misdemeanor charges but sometimes with felony charges as a result of behaviors caused by their psychotic thinking. People with untreated psychiatric illnesses spend twice as much time in jail as non-ill individuals and are more likely to commit suicide.he longer individuals with serious brain disorders go untreated, the more uncertain their prospects for long-term recovery become. Recent studies have suggested that early treatment may lead to better clinical outcomes, while delaying treatment leads to worse outcomes. For example:
A 1997 study from California (Wyatt et. al.) compared people with schizophrenia who received psychotherapy alone (89 patients) versus those who received antipsychotic medications (92 patients); those who received medications had much better outcomes three and seven years later.
A 1998 study from England (Hopkins et. al.) revealed that delusions and hallucinations among patients suffering from psychosis increased in severity the longer treatment was withheld from the time of the initial psychotic break (51 patients were included in the study).
A 1994 study from New York (Liebeman et. al.) showed that the longer a patient waited to receive treatment for a psychotic episode, the longer it took to get the illness into remission (70 patients were included in the study).
A 1998 study from Italy (Tondo et. al.) demonstrated that the sooner patients were started on lithium for their manic-depressive illness, the greater their improvement became (317 patients participated in the study).
Isolation can be psychologically harmful to any prisoner, with the nature and severity of the impact depending on the individual, the duration, and particular conditions (e.g., access to natural light, books, or radio). Psychological effects can include anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and psychosis.The adverse effects of solitary confinement are especially significant for persons with serious mental illness, commonly defined as a major mental disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder) that is usually characterized by psychotic symptoms and/or significant functional impairments. The stress, lack of meaningful social contact, and unstructured days can exacerbate symptoms of illness or provoke recurrence.Suicides occur disproportionately more often in segregation units than elsewhere in prison. All too frequently, mentally ill prisoners decompensate in isolation, requiring crisis care or psychiatric hospitalization. Many simply will not get better as long as they are isolated.
Sources;
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v6/n3/full/nn1008.html
http://www.jeffreyarnett.com/arnett2009theemergenceofmergingadulthood.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration.aspx
https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/03/01/solitary-confinement-and-mental-illness-us-prisons-challenge-medical-ethics
http://www.jeffreyarnett.com/arnett2009theemergenceofmergingadulthood.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration.aspx
https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/03/01/solitary-confinement-and-mental-illness-us-prisons-challenge-medical-ethics
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