NCJ Number
226617
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 211-227
Date Published
April 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the prevalence of mental disorders among newly incarcerated male juvenile offenders (n=149) in Germany.
Abstract
Conduct disorder was the most prevalent mental disorder, which was present in 81 percent of delinquents under the age of 18. The study confirmed earlier findings regarding the high prevalence of substance-related disorders in forensic samples (up to 60 percent of the sample). Regarding age-related differences in drug use, opiate and cocaine consumption was more frequent among older participants. Cluster B personality disorders were found in up to 62 percent of the sample, and psychopathic features were found among 21 percent of the participants. The most problematic subgroup consisted of juveniles with multiple psychopathology, including antisocial traits, personality pathology, higher scores on the Psychopathy Checklist, and multiple substance abuse. The information from this study is critical for the development of evidence-based treatment of juvenile inmates in the German juvenile justice system. The study involved semistructured interviews for the assessment of mental disorders. The diagnostic tools used were the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Edition Four and the Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version. The SPSS (German Version 11.5) was used for data processing and statistical analysis. 4 tables and 45 references