Mental Illness in the Juvenile Justice System

Written by Elle Decker-Villa Duchesne

Mental disorders are widespread among young people in the juvenile justice system with as many as 70% of teenagers having diagnosable mental health problems. These young people have depression, anxiety, and even dissociative issues. While suffering from these disorders, young people can act out against others close to them at home or school. This can cause them to get in trouble and face serious consequences. Juvenile justice systems use a range of tools including screening and assessment to gauge the psychological state of juvenile offenders. The goal of screening for mental health problems is to identify youths who would possibly need a direct response such as medication or additional attention to their mental health needs. The assessment aims to try to collect enough comprehensive and personalized profiles of youth to find a solution for the different possible problems. The assessment is done on selected youths who have higher needs found through previous screenings. A significant proportion of youths within the juvenile justice system have an identifiable mental state disorder. Studies have shown that two-thirds of youth in detention or punitive settings have a minimum of one diagnosable mental health problem. The 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that “11.4% adolescents aged 11 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year, although the survey did not provide an overall measure of mental illness among adolescents (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality 2015). Similarly, a systematic review by Fazel and Langstrom (2008) found that youths in detention and correctional facilities were almost 10 times more likely to suffer from psychosis than youths in the general population. ” (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED590855.pdf) The relationship between mental health problems and the juvenile justice system is very complex because some youth offenders do not have a mental health problem, and many young people who have a mental health problem do not offend. Certain risk factors could increase both mental health and problem behaviors in young people. For example, exposure to violence can increase mental health issues, such as posttraumatic stress, in youth and increase the occurrence of delinquent behavior (Finkelhor et al. 2009). Additionally, researchers have found that some behavior issues and substance use disorders do increase the likelihood of delinquency, violence, and contact with the justice system. There has been a connection between childhood violence exposure and antisocial behavior. This includes delinquency, gang involvement, substance use, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and aggression. “92.5 percent of detained youths reported at least one traumatic experience, and 84 percent reported more than one. ” (Abram et al. 2013, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED590855.pdf) Arrival into the juvenile court system may aggravate youths ’ existing mental health problems for multiple reasons. For one, there is inconsistency across some of the decision points of the juvenile justice system. Some examples include the residential facilities, providing referrals to treatment and appropriately screening, assessing, and treating juveniles with mental health conditions. All of these are not consistent and change depending on the case. There are also the difficulties that many juveniles face when detained or incarcerated. For instance, the increased odds of falling back once

youths are involved in the justice system and the perceived barriers to services that can prevent youths from seeking or receiving treatment. Among youths involved in the juvenile justice system (including those who have been referred to court or those who have been adjudicated and placed in a residential facility), only a small percentage of those in need of services can access treatment, making the ability to actually rehabilitate the juveniles very difficult. It is important for youths to

Sources: California Endowment,

“Promising Practices from the Healthy Returns Initiative: Building Connections to Health, Mental Health, and Family Support Services in Juvenile Justice ” (Los Angeles, CA: California Endowment, May 2010), http://bit.ly/1oSONgy. Models for Change, “Improving and Coordinating Access to Mental Health Services for Youth in Pennsylvania ’ s Juvenile Justice System ” (Chicago, IL: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, April 2007), http://bit.ly/YIqPeA; Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, “Comprehensive Systems Change Initiative (CSCI) Briefing Paper” (Braintree, MA: April 2012), http://bit.ly/1tXVqjW. https://jjie.org/hub/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/ https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/mpg/literature-review/mental-health-juvenile-justice-system.pdf