Common sense tells us that teenagers are different from adults, and a large, growing body of psychological and neurological research confirms that young people's brains mature far less rapidly than previously thought--developing well into a person's twenties. 

According to recent research funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change initiative, incarceration can further stymie young people's psychosocial maturation--meaning that youth who experience incarceration may be more impulsive and susceptible to negative peer influence upon release, increasing the risk of re-arrest. 

Download the full research summary (PDF).