The Adolescent Brain and Delinquency

"Adolescence is second only to early childhood in the rapidity and sheer volume of changes occurring in brain development. Three different brain systems (and their interconnections) are at play: reward-driven behavior, harm avoidance, and regulatory behavior. At the same time, teens are experiencing powerful changes to their physical and sexual selves, accompanied by the hormonal cascade of puberty. During this period, there is an increase in brain receptors for dopamine, a neurotransmitter that has a strong effect on the experience of pleasure."

"In the class of things that happen so often or predictably as to become truisms are the high-risk activities that teenagers frequently engage in, like driving too fast, using alcohol or drugs, unprotected sex, and delinquency. Decades of research report that across Western countries, delinquent behaviors rise sharply from age 10 until age 16 and fall off just as sharply in late adolescence and early adulthood, a phenomenon referred to as the "age- crime curve" (Scott & Steinberg, 2008)."

Delinquent behaviors increase sharply from about age 10 to 16 and decline in late adolescence and early adulthood, forming an age–crime curve. Adolescence features rapid, large-scale brain changes second only to early childhood. Three brain systems—reward-driven behavior, harm avoidance, and regulatory control—develop asynchronously. Dopamine receptor increases amplify reward sensitivity, especially in peer contexts, while reduced amygdala activity lessens perceived threat. Slower maturation of regulatory and executive regions creates behavioral imbalance. Pubertal hormonal changes compound these shifts, and early-life trauma further elevates risk by intensifying developmental vulnerabilities.

Read at Psychology Today