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Dr. Cortney Simmons.

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the School of Interdisciplinary Forensics and the director of the Risk to Resilience (R2R) Lab at Arizona State University. ​ I received my Ph.D. in Psychological Science from the University of California, Irvine, where I worked with Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman on the Crossroads Study and received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. After leaving UC Irvine, I completed three years of postdoctoral training at Yale University, working with Dr. Arielle Baskin-Sommers and as an affiliate of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.

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two male teenagers (one white, other of

My Research.  

At the broadest level, my research aims to better understand the development and prevention of antisocial behavior (aggression, violence, criminal offending) and psychopathology (conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, psychopathic or callous-unemotional trait). I leverage methodologies across multiple disciplines (developmental and clinical psychology, psychophysiology, developmental neuroscience), and utilize rigorous quantitative modeling to examine the dynamic interactions between behavior, psychopathology, and environment across adolescence.

Specific Aims and Example Publications.

Characterize developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior and psychopathology, and identify how environmental and legal-system experiences shape those trajectories

  • Hill, R. T. J., Frick, P. J., Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., & Simmons, C. (2026). Behavioral health trajectories and rearrest outcomes among system-involved male youth. Development and Psychopathology, 1–14. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579426101229

  • Simmons, C., Randolph, I., Sbeglia, C., Frick, P. J., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2025). Differential associations between legal system contact and internalizing symptoms among Latino, Black, and White youth. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2025.2534940

  • *Estrada, S., & *Simmons, C., & Baskin-Sommers, A. (2023). Trajectories of psychopathy and community violence exposure differentially predict antisociality in justice-involved youth. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-022-00989-z

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Identify individual and contextual processes that contribute to antisocial behavior, violence, and related psychopathology

  • Smith, C. D., Simmons, C., Rodgers, E. L., & Cauffman, E. (2025). Examining differential influences of individual and environmental risk factors on the thrill of violent and nonviolent crime. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865-025-00276-7

  • Simmons, C., Rodgers, E. L., & Cauffman, E. (2023). Examining the relation among callous-unemotional traits and cortisol, alpha-amylase, and testosterone reactivity in legal system involved young men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106391

  • Chan, L., Simmons, C., Tillem, S., Conley, M., Brazil, I. A., & Baskin-Sommers, A. (2022). Classifying Conduct Disorder using a biopsychosocial model and machine learning method. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.02.004

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Translate developmental science into legal policy and practice, with particular attention to how legal systems respond to youth and promote healthy development

  • Simmons, C., Cavanagh, C., & Krupa, J. (accepted). Integrating developmental and anti-racist perspectives into juvenile legal research. Developmental Review.

  • Simmons, C., & Cavanagh, C. (2026). Adolescent development, youth violence, and policy options for a developmentally informed legal system. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1177/23727322261470696

  • Casey, B. J., Simmons, C., Somerville, L. H., & Baskin-Sommers, A. (2022). Making the sentencing case: Psychological and neuroscientific evidence for expanding the age of youthful offenders. Annual Review of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-030920-113250

Public Presentations

Psychopathic traits in youth: ​Separating myth from science

Hosted by the New York State Youth Justice Institute​

 

Punitive sentences for youth involved in crime are often based on arguments that the youth is beyond reform or reentry into society. The presence of psychopathic traits (e.g., manipulative, callousness, impulsivity) is deemed especially relevant in determining a youth’s incorrigibility, as these traits are thought to identify a subgroup of youth who are biologically predisposed to chronic antisociality and unresponsive to treatment, and thus pose long-term threats to society. This presentation discusses the relevance of psychopathy for juvenile justice and breaks down myths about the causes, development, and treatment of psychopathic traits in youth.

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Classifying Conduct Disorder Using a Biopsychosocial Model and Machine Learning Method
​Originally presented at the 2022 NIDA-NIAAA Mini-Convention: Frontiers in Addiction Research | Link to video (1:07)

Youth Experiences With the 2020 Black Lives Matter Demonstrations in the United States
​Originally presented at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention | Link to video

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