Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - RCAP Special Issue Call for Papers

Bringing Technology to Justice Involved Youth:
Applying Virtual Reality, Smartphone Apps, and Wearables to Assessment and Treatment

Guest Editors
Esther Mertens, Ph.D. (Leiden University, Netherlands; e.c.a.mertens@fsw.leidenuniv.nl (this opens in a new tab))
Jean-Louis van Gelder, Ph.D. (Max Planck Institute for Research on Crime, Security, and Law; Leiden University, Netherlands; j.vangelder@csl.mpg.de (this opens in a new tab))
Jessica Asscher, Ph.D. (Utrecht University, Netherlands; j.j.asscher@uu.nl (this opens in a new tab))
Carmen-Silva Sergiou, Ph.D. (Leiden University, Netherlands; c.sergiou@fsw.leidenuniv.nl (this opens in a new tab))

Aims of the Special Issue

1. Catalyzing research on the use and applicability of technology in outpatient and residential juvenile justice context.
2. State-of-the-art overview of different types of technology use for mental health assessment and treatment purposes in juvenile justice context.
3. A collection of empirical studies making use of technology that has potential for application within the juvenile justice context.

Overview of the Special Issue

Technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), smartphone applications (apps), and wearables, offer unique opportunities for the assessment and treatment of offenders. They can, for example, simulate relevant situations and events in controlled but ecologically valid environments, personalize mental health-related treatment through algorithms, deliver ‘just-in-time’ interventions by providing warnings at critical time-points, or assess user responses and behaviors that are beyond the purview of conventional methods. Technology use in criminal justice context can increase the ecological and predictive validity of interventions and instruments and add novel types of measurements to the diagnostics and treatment stages.Whereas digitalization initiatives among adults in criminal justice context have shown promise, application among justice involved youth is still in its infancy. This is not only surprising but also a missed opportunity, given that youths, as digital natives, are particularly likely to accept, and feel comfortable with, technology. Hence, there is a need for research on the use and applicability of technology in juvenile justice context, both outpatient and residential. This Special Issue addresses this gap in the knowledge base. We invite:

empirical studies examining specific mental health assessments or treatments that are relevant for the juvenile justice context and that make use of technology

Contributions can include the empirical results of a project using specific technology for assessment or treatment purposes, or highlight other relevant parts of the study, such as original research designs (e.g., single case studies, factorial designs), development processes, and implementation challenges and strategies. Given that empirical studies focusing specifically on technology use in juvenile justice context are still scarce, contributions may also showcase technologically innovative assessment and treatment approaches from other contexts, such as adults in criminal justice context or youth domains that are also relevant for justice involved youth. Note that it is important that mental health and/or psychopathology measures are included as predictors or outcomes in the contributions.

Procedures for submitting and timeline:

• Letters of intent should be sent electronically as a PDF or Word file to Esther Mertens (e.c.a.mertens@fsw.leidenuniv.nl (this opens in a new tab)) with the subject line noted as “RCAP Special Issue”. All letters of intent will be reviewed by 31 December 2023 and selected contributors will be notified by 31 January 2024.
• Letters of Intent should include the following: 1) tentative title, 2) brief description of 500 words or less (excluding references), structured as Background, Methods/Sample, Proposed Analyses, 3) brief justification of how the proposed submission contributes to one or more of the aims of the Special Issue, and 4) author affiliations and contact information for the Corresponding Author. Please direct questions to e.c.a.mertens@fsw.leidenuniv.nl (this opens in a new tab).
• Authors invited to submit a manuscript should do so by 1 September 2024 using the RCAP manuscript submission system. When submitting, authors should indicate that this paper is intended for the RCAP Special Issue on Bringing Technology to Justice Involved Youth. The paper will then be assigned to the guest editors for handling.
• All manuscripts should follow RCAP submission guidelines: https://www.springer.com/journal/10802 (this opens in a new tab)/submission-guidelines and will undergo peer review. Pre-registration and inclusion of code and data is encouraged.

Corresponding authors of the selected contributions will also be invited to attend a multi-day workshop held in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands, in October 2024 (exact workshop date pending confirmation). Travel expenses and accommodation for the workshop will be covered by the workshop organizers. During the workshop, draft papers will be presented and discussed in order to obtain peer feedback. Importantly, as the workshop aims to bring science and practice together, besides scientists, experts from (clinical) practice and policy makers will also be invited to attend the workshop.