Criminal Justice and Behavior · 2010 · 251 citations · 40 references
Substance UsePsychopathologyAdolescent Behavioral HealthMental HealthSubstance Use DisordersPsychologyCorrectional PracticeYouth Mental HealthPublic HealthYouth JusticeSuicidal BehaviorHealth SciencesTeen Mental HealthDiagnostic AssessmentsJuvenile JusticePopulation YouthPsychiatryAdult Behavioral HealthAdolescent PsychologyForensic PsychiatryMental Health NeedsSubstance AbuseJuvenile DelinquencySuicideJustice System YouthAdult Mental HealthMedicineYouth Behavioral Health
The study estimates psychiatric disorder and suicidality rates among juvenile justice youth using nationwide agency data. The authors aggregated self‑reported diagnoses from 57 sites (9,819 youth) via a computer‑assisted interview, modeling disorder risk by setting, demographics, offense characteristics, site variability, and race‑comorbidity interactions for substance‑use disorder. White youth, repeat offenders, and those with deeper system involvement had higher disorder rates, girls showed higher internalizing disorders, and American Indian youth had high substance‑use disorder rates regardless of affective disorder or recent suicide attempt, highlighting setting‑specific mental‑health needs, strong links to prior justice contact, gender differences, and racial/ethnic diagnostic disparities.
Results of collaborations with juvenile justice agencies nationwide were examined to provide generalizable estimates of psychiatric disorder and suicidality among justice system youth. Diagnostic assessments were aggregated from 57 sites ( N = 9,819) from an automated computer-assisted self-interview (Voice Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children). Disorder was predicted from setting type (system intake, detention, corrections), adjusting for demographic and offense characteristics, and for cross-site variability within settings. Race by comorbid disorder interactions were examined in predicting substance use disorder (SUD). White youth, repeat offenders, and those with further justice system penetration reported higher rates of most disorders; girls reported higher rates of internalizing conditions only. Although presence of another disorder increased SUD for most groups, SUD was high in American Indians regardless of either affective disorder or recent suicide attempt. Findings highlight (a) varying mental health needs across settings, (b) prior justice contact relating strongly to need, (c) girls’ elevated rates of internalizing disorder, and (d) racial/ethnic differences in diagnostic profiles.
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David Shaffer, Prudence W. Fisher, Christopher P. Lucas et al. · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · 2000 · 3.5K citations · Full text