Maturity of judgment in adolescence: Psychosocial factors in adolescent decision making.

Abstract

To date, analyses of differences between adolescents ' and adults ' judgment have emphasized age differences in cognitive factors presumed toaffect decision making. In contrast, this article examines research and theory on three psychosoeial spects of maturity of judgment: responsibility, temperance, and perspective. For several psychosocial dimensions of maturity that are likely to affect judgment, the existing evidence, while indirect and imperfect, indicates that the greatest differences are found in comparisons between early adolescents versus middle and late adolescents. Developmental research on maturity that focuses pecifically on mid- and late adolescence, that simultaneously examines both cognitive and noncognitive factors, and that investigates the relation between these factors and the ability to make good decisions i greatly needed. The treatment of adolescents under the modem legal system often hinges on con-siderations of young people's psychological maturity, and on beliefs about the im-pact of maturity on judgment and decision making. During most of the past century, adolescents have been viewed under the law as immature and less capable than