Mood Disorders in Juvenile Offenders

• NCJ Number: 191589
• Author(s): Eileen P. Ryan D.O.
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-JE-FX-0051
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Sale Source: Institute of Law, Psychiatry & Public Policy, University of Virginia
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Downloaded 11/16/2001

Annotation

This document discusses an unmet need for mental health services in the juvenile justice population -- mood disorders.

Abstract

Juveniles with mood disorders (including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, and cyclothymia) constitute a significant proportion of those offenders who require evaluation and treatment within the juvenile justice system. Despite advances in the understanding of mood disorders in children over the past 3 decades, juvenile depression remains under-diagnosed and under-treated. Depression takes an enormous toll on the individual’s development of personality formation and organization. The identification and adequate treatment of mood disorders is crucial given the relationship of mood disorders to suicide. A variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, have been identified as a risk factor for delinquency. Thus, the effective treatment of a juvenile’s mood disorder may help diminish delinquent behavior. Major depression is more prevalent among juvenile offenders than in the general population. Incarcerated adolescent girls were three times more likely than boys to meet criteria for major depression. In a restrictive, alien environment where there are adolescents removed from their families, it may be perceived as “normal” for a juvenile to be depressed. However, transient unhappiness is quite different from the clinical syndrome of depression. Some of the symptoms of depression are irritable mood, diminished interest or pleasure in previously enjoyed activities, weight loss or gain, insomnia, fatigue, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. Bipolar disorder (manic depression) is characterized by alternating depression and mania. Irritability, aggression, and impulsivity are major features of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. Bipolar disorder appears to affect both sexes equally overall. Juvenile justice officials regard the care of youth with serious mental illnesses as among one of the greatest challenges. There is increasing recognition that a combination of psychotherapeutic modalities can be utilized in the treatment of depressed youth. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. 43 references