ABSTRACT
Several studies have shown high rates of psychopathology among female adolescents in detention. Although rates of mental health problems have been called alarming, it is unknown whether mental health needs in females in juvenile justice differ substantially from those of females in mental health care. Therefore, this study compared adolescent females in detention with inpatient adolescent females. For this purpose, a sample of 256 detained females (mean age 15.4 ± 1.3) was compared to 45 psychiatric inpatient females (mean age 15.8 ±1.4). Socio-demographic characteristics, mental health history and psychiatric problems were investigated using file-information and self-report questionnaires. Compared to detained females, inpatients more often showed internalizing problems and dissociation, whereas externalizing problems prevailed in girls in detention centers. Females in detention more often came from an ethnic minority group, while females in mental healthcare more often received mental healthcare previously and had parents with higher employment. This study confirms that mental health needs of girls in mental healthcare and in detention are high. However, non-mental health related factors were different as well - i.e. socio-economic factors - and are likely to influence the involvement with either service sector.
Subject(s)
Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Juvenile Delinquency/statistics & numerical data , Mental Disorders/psychology , Psychopathology/methods , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Inpatients , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Health , Minority Groups , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Self Report , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to investigate a group of detained females with regard to aggression and psychopathology and to examine the relationship between the two conditions. For this purpose, a representative sample of 216 detained adolescent females aged 12-18 (mean 15.5) was studied with a standard set of self-report instruments, while a subgroup of 73 parents was interviewed by telephone on the participants' externalizing psychopathology. Based on aggression items derived from the Conduct Disorder section of the Kiddie-SADS, the following three aggression subgroups were identified: (1) non-aggressive (NA; 41%), (2) mildly aggressive (MA; 39%), and (3) severely aggressive (SA; 20%). In addition to high levels of psychopathology for the group as a whole, differences were found between aggression groups, with the NA group demonstrating the lowest levels, the MA group intermediate levels, and the SA group the highest levels. These differences were most pronounced for externalizing psychopathology, and were also found for post-traumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) and suicidality. The clinical implications of these findings should be investigated in the future, but may well relate to issues of diagnostic identification and administration of adequate and targeted treatment, especially with regard to PTSS and suicidality. Since the current study was cross-sectional, the predictive effect of the investigated relationships should be the focus of further study.
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Juvenile Delinquency/psychology , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Psychology, Adolescent , Social Control, Formal , Adolescent , Aggression/classification , Comorbidity , Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Dissociative Disorders/diagnosis , Dissociative Disorders/epidemiology , Dissociative Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Juvenile Delinquency/classification , Juvenile Delinquency/statistics & numerical data , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Disorders/psychology , Netherlands/epidemiology , Parents/psychology , Personality Inventory , Prevalence , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Severity of Illness Index , Sex Factors , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the histories of detained adolescent females and to examine the relationship between teenage pregnancy on the one hand and mental health and sexuality related characteristics on the other. METHODS: Of 256 admitted detained adolescent females aged 12-18 years, a representative sample (N = 212, 83%) was examined in the first month of detention. Instruments included a semi-structured interview, standardized questionnaires and file information on pregnancy, sexuality related characteristics (sexual risk behavior, multiple sex partners, sexual trauma, lack of assertiveness in sexual issues and early maturity) and mental health characteristics (conduct disorder, alcohol and drug use disorder and suicidality). RESULTS: Approximately 20% of the participants reported having been pregnant (before detention), although none had actually given birth. Sexuality related characteristics were more prevalent in the pregnancy group, while this was not so for the mental health characteristics. Age at assessment, early maturity, sexual risk behavior, and suicidality turned out to be the best predictors for pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The lifetime prevalence of pregnancy in detained adolescent females is high and is associated with both sexuality related risk factors and mental health related risk factors. Therefore, prevention and intervention programs targeting sexual risk behavior and mental health are warranted during detention.
