Effects of Adolescent Psychopathology on Juvenile Competence to Make Medical and Legal Decisions

• NCJ Number: 191635
• Author(s): Fran Lexcen Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 4 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-JE-FX-0051
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Sale Source: Juvenile Forensic Evaluation Resource Ctr.
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded November 16, 2001

Annotation

This article provides a brief summary of psychological disorders and their symptoms with the potential to compromise competence among adolescents in making both medical and legal decisions.

Abstract

Two areas affected by adolescent psychopathology are adjudicative competence, capacities required by various legal proceedings and medical competence, competence to consent to treatment for mental illness. The direct effects of adolescent psychopathology on competence in making medical and legal decisions, was the focus of this article. Competence potentially requires a variety of capabilities: understanding, rational thinking, appreciation, and communication. When studying adolescent competence, two important comparison groups were seen as necessary: (1) adults with psychopathology and (2) adolescents without psychopathology. The article presents a summation of six psychological disorders that could indeed compromise competence among adolescents; they include: (1) Schizophrenia; (2) Bipolar disorder; (3) depression; (4) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD or ADD); (5) Conduct disorder; and (6) substance abuse. References