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Specific Language Impairment (SLI) has a well-established link to delinquency, criminal behavior, and incarceration in adolescent and adult populations. Typical explanations for this focus on low academic achievement, poor socialization, and socio-economic variables common to this population. None of these, however, takes into account the primary role that poor language comprehension and use has on the individual’s ability to comprehend the law, police interrogation, and legal proceedings. In this project, we asked whether individuals with SLI have decreased adjudicative competence due to their poor language skills.
Grisso’s Instruments for Assessing Knowledge and Appreciation of Miranda Rights was used as a standard measure of adjudicative competence. Young adults (aged 18-25) participated in the study, half of whom matched the diagnostic criteria for SLI. Results indicated that young adults with SLI had diminished adjudicative competence in comparison to typically-developing peers. While secondary characteristics doubtlessly affect adjudication in this population, the primary language impairment plays a more central role than has been previously proposed
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