Lee A. Underwood

Comparing the mental health needs of female and male incarcerated juvenile delinquents

The present study was undertaken to survey the prevalence of mental disorder in juvenile justice facilities and to compare the mental health needs for females and males. Girls displayed significantly more mental health needs than boys. The estimated prevalence of mental disorder for boys was 27%, compared with 84% for girls. The difference is highly significant and is discussed in terms of service system issues in juvenile justice that affect males and females differently.

Mental illness and juvenile offenders

Within the past decade, reliance on the juvenile justice system to meet the needs of juvenile offenders with mental health concerns has increased. Due to this tendency, research has been conducted on the effectiveness of various intervention and treatment programs/approaches with varied success. Recent literature suggests that because of interrelated problems involved for youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health issues, a dynamic system of care that extends beyond mere treatment within the juvenile justice system is the most promising. The authors provide a brief overview of the extent to which delinquency and mental illness co-occur; why treatment for these individuals requires a system of care; intervention models; and the juvenile justice systems role in providing mental health services to delinquent youth. Current and future advancements and implications for practitioners are provided.

Clinical Considerations for the Treatment of Latency Age Children in Residential Care

Children in the United States are exposed to alarmingly high rates of violence and trauma. Notable are the rates of maltreatment among children and the heightened risk for both out of home placement and an array of developmental, behavioral, and psychosocial sequelae. Despite these risks, little information is available on effective interventions and services designed to address the complex needs of youth in residential treatment settings. To effectively respond to their unique developmental, behavioral, and emotional needs, trauma-informed interventions and services must be provided to support optimal outcomes. To this end, this paper delineates the prevalence of children in residential care secondary to chronic maltreatment and other trauma exposures, identifies behavioral and emotional issues through the theoretical framework of complex trauma, highlights the importance of organizational capacity to deliver trauma-informed services, and describes effective clinical interventions that are often used in residential treatment. Clinical considerations and recommendations are also provided.

Spirituality group with female prisoners: impacting hope.

Female offenders are showing a dramatic increase and presenting with several challenges to emotional stability. Current research literature notes the disadvantaged state of these women and psychological profiles reflecting depression, anxiety, trauma, shame, low self-worth, and substance abuse. The instillation of hope has been identified as a therapeutic factor and motivating energy that promotes goal development, reduction of negative emotions, and coping ability. This investigation assessed the impact of hope on female prisoners through the use of a psychoeducational group based on Christian spirituality. Data from the Herth Hope Index were analyzed using a series of t tests to measure group differences. Analysis of the data indicated positive change in the therapy group but did not support statistical significance for every factor analyzed, yet it does provide several implications for practice and future research.

Examining Mental Health Symptoms in Male and Female Incarcerated Juveniles

Varying risk factors for both incarceration and mental health diagnoses have been identified for female juveniles, highlighting the need for gender-specific assessments and treatment protocols. The purpose of this study is to determine how the prevalence rates of mental health symptoms differ in male and female juvenile offenders. It was hypothesized that the prevalence rates would be greater for females than males. This study found significant differences between males and females on several clinical scales. These findings are consistent with past studies that have identified differences in mental health symptoms between genders.

Sex offender care for adolescents in secure care: Critical factors and counseling strategies

Sexual offenses perpetrated by adolescents have reportedly reached epidemic proportions. Adolescent sex offenders have been transferred to secure care facilities for their primary care. The elevated awareness and recognition of the problematic growth of adolescent sexual offenses has stimulated discussion among psychologists concerning the etiology, characteristics, classification, assessment, treatment interventions, and risk of recidivism. This article explores the critical factors and counseling strategies of those adolescents who have been adjudicated of sexual offenses.

Evaluation of an Innovative Post-Arrest Diversion Program: 12-Month Recidivism Analysis

ABSTRACT We report the results of an evaluation study of a diversion program, operated by the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Assessment Center in Florida. The Post-Arrest Diversion (PAD) program represents an innovative approach to treatment and intervention within the juvenile justice system that utilizes standardized psychosocial risks and needs assessment to provide individual treatment for first-time, non-violent juvenile offenders. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the PAD program with regard to one-year follow-up recidivism. The sample is comprised of 409 youths (255 male; 154 female) who entered PAD between April and June of 2003. Stepwise, Poisson and OLS regression analyses of the effects of socio-demographic characteristics, type of charges leading to program involvement, recidivism risk level, PAD completion, and arrests while in PAD on the number of recidivism arrests and charges were conducted. The findings suggest that successful completion of PAD significantly reduces recidivism.

Screening Incarcerated Juveniles Using the MAYSI-2

The high prevalence of mental health disorders among incarcerated juveniles is a matter of national and global concern. Juvenile justice personnel need accurate screening measures that identify youth requiring immediate mental health services. The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to examine the utility of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Version 2 (MAYSI-2) in identifying juveniles with mental health concerns in a large sample of juveniles (N = 4,009), (b) to provide data regarding rates of identified mental health needs in incarcerated youth, and (c) to provide descriptive comparisons to other studies using the MAYSI-2. Mean scores of subscales were compared with the MAYSI-2 normative samples and other recent studies. Results indicated that this population has a high occurrence of mental health symptoms and there is high variability in the severity of the symptoms. In addition, a multivariate analysis of variance test found significant differences in mental health problems across ethnic groups.

Path Analysis of the SCL-90-R: Exploring Use in Outpatient Assessment.

The Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL-90-R) is a widely used assessment of mental health pathology; however, its factor structure has been called into question by numerous studies. This study assessed a community mental health outpatient sample (N = 336) with the SCL-90-R and analyzed the factor structure. The results indicated that the SCL-90-R measures one large factor, but the test items held together reasonably well when a nine-factor extraction was executed. A shorter 67-item variant, which was a by-product of this study, is hypothesized as having some key advantages over the original 90-item version. Implications for the assessment of the outpatient population with the SCL-90-R and its variants are discussed.

Treatment Impact of an Integrated Sex Offender Program as Measured by J-SOAP-II

Despite the increase in juvenile sex offending in society and the significant growth in the number of treatment programs, relatively few studies have examined the effectiveness of these programs. This study examined the effectiveness of an integrated sex offender program on a sample of 309 adjudicated male sex offenders in a juvenile correctional facility using the dynamic scale score of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol II (J-SOAP-II). The youth participated in one of the three treatment groups characterized by length of treatment and risk of recidivism: low risk (0 to 9 months), moderate risk (9 to 23 months), and high risk (23 to 56 months). A significant decrease in the dynamic scale scores of the J-SOAP-II was found only for the moderate treatment group (9 to 23 months).