Researcher's groundbreaking work exploring juvenile crime wins Grawemeyer psychology award




Wed, December 8, 2021

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For her work shedding new light on the nature of juvenile crime, psychologist Terrie Moffitt has won the 2022 Grawemeyer Award in psychology.

Moffitt, a Duke University psychologist and King’s College, London, social development professor, discovered two types of antisocial behavior in juveniles.

One persists from early childhood to adulthood, is relatively rare and is seen mostly in males, while the other occurs only in adolescence and is seen in both males and females, the University of Louisville said in a release.

Although both types appear to be the same on psychological tests and in illegal behaviors, Moffitt found they are distinctly different, an insight that has changed the way the courts prosecute juveniles, U of L said.

Before Moffitt’s initial research paper in 1993, most psychologists thought antisocial behavior in young people resulted from poor parenting or social stress such as poverty, and therefore was essentially unchangeable.

But Moffitt's studies of teenagers showed antisocial behavior often is part of normal adolescent development, U of L's release said.

Her research has generated hundreds of empirical tests in the social, biological and health sciences over the past 25 years that have supported her findings.

"She and her colleagues studied the life trajectories of people with both types of antisocial behavior and built models to identify and rehabilitate them," award judges said. "Her work has become a cornerstone of how courts decide to sentence juvenile offenders."

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The research carries special weight in American cities such as Louisville, which has seen a glut of youth violence during the pandemic.

More than 80 children and teens ages 17 and younger have been wounded in shootings across Louisville this year, already surpassing all of last year.

In the 2020 book “The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life,” Moffitt and three other psychologists shared their research on 4,000 children through adulthood. The team found although genetics and environment affect how young people develop, neither factor alone determines their behavior as adults, U of L said.

Moffitt, a licensed clinical psychologist, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and has received distinguished career awards from the American Psychological Association.

Recipients of next year’s Grawemeyer Awards are being named this week pending formal approval by university trustees. The annual, $100,000 prizes also honor seminal ideas in music, world order, education and religion. Winners will visit Louisville in April to accept their awards and give free talks on their winning ideas.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Duke psychologist's look at juvenile crime wins Grawemeyer award