Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2009
The juvenile justice system faces a significant challenge in identifying and responding to the psychiatric disorders of detained youth. In 2003, over 96 000 juvenile offenders were in custody in juvenile residential placement facilities (Sickmund et al., 2006). Despite the difficulty of handling such youth, providing them with psychiatric services may be critical to breaking the cycle of recidivism.
A comprehensive understanding of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among juvenile detainees is an important step toward meeting their needs. Like adult prisoners, juvenile detainees with serious mental disorders have a constitutional right under the 8th and 14th Amendments to needed services (American Association of Correctional Psychology, 2000; The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2005; Soler, 2002; Costello & Jameson, 1987). Without sound data on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, however, defining the best means to use and enhance the juvenile justice system's scarce mental health resources is difficult.
Prior research
Although epidemiological data are key to understanding the psychiatric disorders of juvenile detainees, few empirical studies exist. Table 2.1 lists studies published in the United States since 1990 that examined the diagnostic characteristics of incarcerated and detained juveniles. These studies do not provide data that are comprehensive enough to guide juvenile justice policy. For example, although six studies present rates of multiple disorders, only four of those examine patterns of psychiatric comorbidity among juvenile detainees (Domalanta et al., 2003; Duclos et al., 1998; Pliszka et al., 2000; Shelton, 2001).
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