It is known that youth
engaged in the juvenile justice system show high rates of psychiatric
disorders. However, little is known about the course of those disorders over
time, or about mental health service use on the part of children and families
during justice system involvement.
Boys and girls recruited from their first
contact with juvenile court (n=75), at a mean age of 13.6 years, completed
three waves of interviews, each consisting of a structured clinical interview
and questionnaires regarding service use, family functioning, parental burden,
parental psychopathology. High rates of psychiatric disorders were evident.
Three quarters (n = 56) met criteria for a mood, anxiety or behavioral disorder
by parent or child report. Despite the high prevalence of mental health
concerns, relatively few youth (approximately 20%) were involved in mental
health services in follow-up waves.
The presence of ODD and higher levels of
family communication problems were associated with involvement in mental health
services. Although parents experienced burden associated with their child's
mental health problems, burden was not a strong correlate of help-seeking.
Mental health problems declined from the point of initial involvement with
juvenile justice; only ODD symptoms showed stability over time.
Low rates of
engagement in mental health services are found for juveniles subsequent to
their first contact with juvenile justice. ODD and family communication
problems most influenced service engagement, while burden due to mental health
problems did not.
The results provide potential targets for efforts to enhance
parental motivation towards service engagement.
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By:
- 1University of Connecticut.
- 2University of Pittsburgh.
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