1.56 (> Court and the Legal System—juvenile I-orensicsSuggestions for Future ResearchResearch needs to focus on exactly which factors to consider when making custody
decisions based on the best interests of the child. Before specific guidelines can be
proposed, however, they first have to be discovered. Conducting research on those
areas of development and functioning most appropriate for children, at various ages,
should be pursued by mental health professionals, specifically child development
specialists. Also, studying various decisions made by judges and determining which
constitutional factors are important in these situations is warranted, especially since
courts are not going to let psychological issues prevail over constitutional ones.
There needs to be some clarification regarding those factors regularly considered
and how different conditions change the factors that are deemed important (Banach,
1998). Once these are learned, they can be incorporated into guidelines for those
making child custody decisions.
In the area of gender bias decision making, further research should be conducted
on fathers who are awarded sole custody of their children in order to verify that
they can be appropriate caregivers. Although findings exist in this area, additional
studies are needed because courts continue to favor mothers in their decisions. This
bias can adversely impact someone like Joe, who may have made a horrible mistake
but could still be a good caregiver.
SENTENCING: PSYCHOLOGY OF JUVENILE
REHABILITATION
Introduction
The controversy surrounding the most appropriate way to deal with juvenile
offenders remains unabated today. There are two opposing viewpoints which per-
vade the sentencing of youthful offenders. There are those who advocate a rehabil-
itative model when addressing juvenile crime and those who advocate a retributive
model. The rehabilitative model is based on the premise that youthful offend-
ers are amenable to treatment and, if treated properly, will age out of criminal
behavior. Those who promote the retributive model believe that juveniles who
commit crimes are treated too leniently by the system and should receive more
stringent punishment for their crimes. While rehabilitation used to be the pri-
mary goal of the juvenile justice system, over the past decade there has been a
shift to ensure retribution (Melton et al., 1997). The following case illustration
depicts a recent notorious case in which a juvenile committed a heinous crime
which left many individuals throughout the nation wondering what to do with
a boy like Kip. While some individuals perceive individuals such as Kip to be
troubled teens in dire need of treatment, others think such youths deserve capital
punishment.