Association Between Mental Health Disorders and Juveniles' Detention for a Personal Crime

Background: Youth involved with juvenile courts often suffer from mental health difficulties and disorders, and these mental health disorders have often been a factor leading to the youth’s delinquent behaviours and activities. Method: The present study of a sample population (N= 341), randomly draw...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Boitel, Craig (Author) ; Stoddard Dare, Patricia A (Author) ; Mallett, Christopher A (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
Published: 2011
In:Year: 2011
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Description
Summary:Background: Youth involved with juvenile courts often suffer from mental health difficulties and disorders, and these mental health disorders have often been a factor leading to the youth’s delinquent behaviours and activities. Method: The present study of a sample population (N= 341), randomly drawn from one urban US county’s juvenile court delinquent population, investigated which specific mental health disorders predicted detention for committing a personal crime. Results: Youth with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder diagnoses were significantly less likely to commit personal crimes and experience subsequent detention, while youth with bipolar diagnoses were significantly more likely. Conclusion: Co-ordinated youth policy efforts leading to early identification and treatment of bipolar disorder symptoms may be necessary