Elizabeth Cauffman

Elizabeth Cauffman is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine, holding courtesy appointments in Criminology, Law & Society, Education, and Law. She directs the Center for Psychology & Law and the Masters in Legal & Forensic Psychology program.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, Temple University
• Post-doctoral fellowship, Center on Adolescence, Stanford University

Her research centers on adolescent development, mental health, and juvenile justice, examining brain development, risk-taking, decision-making, and parent-adolescent relationships. Her findings directly informed U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, and Miller v. Alabama through APA amicus briefs, establishing her as a pivotal voice in developmental science-policy integration.

Recent publications reveal consistent interdisciplinary focus across psychology, criminology, and law, with recurring themes in juvenile justice trajectories, school discipline impacts, adolescent interrogations, and incarceration effects. She employs longitudinal methodologies and frequently collaborates with graduate students on developmental perspectives of criminal behavior.

Dr. Cauffman mentors numerous graduate students evidenced by asterisked publications, and her research is supported through affiliations with the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network and the National Academies of Sciences Committee. She has served on both entities to advance adolescent development applications in justice systems.

She leads the Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab and oversees active projects including Young Adult Court, Transitional Age Youth Jail Program, Crossroads processing study, and National Youth Screening Assistance Project, all aimed at reforming justice responses to adolescents through evidence-based practices.