Michele Peterson-Badali, Associate Professor in SCCP

My research interests focus on issues related to the rights of children and youth, including understanding of and attitudes towards children's rights; evolving legal capacities (e.g., adjudicative competence, competence to consent to treatment); and knowledge, perceptions, and experiences of the youth justice system. My primary research approach has involved cross-sectional designs and semi-structured interview methods to provide detailed descriptions of how young people understand and perceive these phenomena. Taking a contextual approach to development, I am interested in the role of significant ‘players’ and social interactions in children’s developing understanding and perceptions. Current projects include an examination of the role of both parents and lawyers in young offenders’ understanding of and attitudes toward the youth justice system, and the impact on recidivism of matching intervention services to youths’ individually-identified risk, criminogenic need, and responsivity factors.