Juvenile justice and psychology? the efficacy of psychological theory and research to support the juvenile justice discipline

Although the study of Criminal Justice includes Juveniles, this inclusion is sketchy at best. The practioner may think that Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice overlap, but Juvenile Justice is obviously missing from, or an add on to, most traditional Criminal Justice programs. Few would argue the difference in the psychological makeup of juveniles and adults, yet this difference is addressed to only a minor degree in such classes as "Juvenile Delinquency". A doctoral degree specifically established to target Juvenile Justice forms the foundation of the study of juvenile crime and its inherent problems. Such an academic discipline naturally begs a unique psychological emphasis, one with a crime-reduction paradigm.