NCJ Number
184168
Journal
Journal of Child and Family Studies Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 205-215
Date Published
June 1999
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined the level of prior service use by incarcerated youth compared with youth receiving community mental health services.
Abstract
Researchers randomly recruited youths from middle South Carolina served by a local community mental health center (CMHC; n=60), hospitalized in the State adolescent inpatient program (n=50), and incarcerated in State juvenile justice facilities (n=75). The study used a services history to evaluate episodes of prior use of mental health, social service, educational, residential, and volunteer services, as well as the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, youth version 2.3 (DISC 2.3) to evaluate DSM-III-R diagnoses and symptoms and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) to evaluate behavioral symptomatology. Incarcerated, hospitalized, and CMHC youth used similar levels of educational services and social services. Incarcerated youth had a significantly lower lifetime use of outpatient and acute mental health services and significantly higher use of out-of-home residential services than the other groups. These service use variables, along with gender and age, significantly distinguish incarcerated youth from the clinical groups, with clinical variables not serving to significantly distinguish them. These results show the need to develop programs to prevent the entry of mentally ill/emotionally disturbed youth into the juvenile justice system. Youth who are at risk for incarceration may benefit from intensive mental health services to prevent out-of-home placement and later incarceration. 4 tables and 30 references