Juveniles with psychiatric disorders remained at risk after incarceration

Within 5 years of being released from detention centers, juvenile offenders with a history of multiple psychiatric disorders were likely to demonstrate disorders, according to recent findings.

Researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine evaluated data on 1,829 juveniles detained at a Cook County, Ill., center from 1995 to 1998. The study population included 1,172 males and 1,005 African-Americans. All participants underwent their second follow-up interviews from 2000 to 2004.

The researchers said that 5 years after incarceration, when the average age of participants was 20 years, 26.8% of males and 13.7% of females had two or more psychiatric disorders. In the participants who had three or more psychiatric disorders at baseline, 93.3% of males and 76% of females had at least one disorder at 5 years of follow-up. Among male patients, substance abuse plus behavior disorders was the most common profile, affecting one in six males.

“Many psychiatric disorders first appear in childhood and adolescence,” the researchers wrote. “Early-onset psychiatric disorders are among the illnesses ranked highest in the World Health Organization’s estimates of the global burden of disease, creating annual costs of $247 billion in the United States.

“Successful primary and secondary prevention of psychiatric disorders will reduce costs to individuals, families and society. Only a concerted effort to address the many needs of delinquent youth will help them thrive in adulthood.”

Disclosure: One of the researchers reported receiving royalties from American Psychiatric Publishing for textbooks.