Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T06:01:19.994Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

13 - Mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2009

By
Gina M. Vincent ,
Thomas Grisso  and
Anna Terry
Edited by
Carol L. Kessler  and
Louis James Kraus
Gina M. Vincent
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
Thomas Grisso
Affiliation:
Professor, Law and Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
Anna Terry
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Law & Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue Norh, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
Carol L. Kessler
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
Louis James Kraus
Affiliation:
Rush University, Chicago
Get access

Summary

Mental health screening in juvenile justice

Over 106 000 youths are in the custody of juvenile justice facilities in the US daily (Synder & Sickmund, 1999). Recent estimates suggest that nearly 60 percent of boys and over two-thirds of girls involved with the juvenile justice system meet criteria for one or more psychiatric disorders, even after controlling for conduct disorder (Teplin et al., 2002). These prevalence rates are higher than those found in youth in the general population (around 14–22 percent; e.g., Kazdin, 2000; Rutter, 1989) and substantially higher than adult prisoners in areas where such comparisons can be made. For example, 13 percent of male delinquents (Teplin et al., 2002) would meet criteria for major depression in contrast to only 4 percent of male adult offenders (Teplin, 1994).

In light of these statistics, accurate identification of mental, behavioral, and emotional disturbances that require immediate attention; namely, risk of suicide or self-harm, risk of aggression, or a pressing mental disorder, is essential as youths enter the juvenile justice system. State juvenile justice facilities have a legal and moral responsibility to respond to the mental health needs of adolescents in their custody (Grisso, 2004). When youths are identified as having a high potential for serious mental health issues, it allows staff to respond immediately to these needs by making appropriate placement decisions in the institution or by referring the youth for a clinical evaluation.

Keywords

juvenile justice settingsmental health assessmentmental health screeningmultidimensional brief screening toolsmultidimensional scales identifying clinical disorderproblem-oriented screening approach
Type
Chapter
Information
The Mental Health Needs of Young Offenders
Forging Paths toward Reintegration and Rehabilitation
 , pp. 270 - 287
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. & Edelbrock, C. (1984). Psychopathology of childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 227–256.Google Scholar
Bailey, S., Doreleijers, T. & Tarbuck, P. (2006). Recent developments in mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice systems. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 15, 391–406.Google Scholar
Briere, J. (1996). Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC): Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (1995). Developmental Psychopathology: Theory and Methods, Vol. 1. New York, NY: Wiley.
Cicchetti, D. & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 597–600.Google Scholar
Dembo, R. & Anderson, A. (2005). Problem-oriented screening instrument for children. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. Guilford Press, pp. 112–122.
Dennis, M., Titus, J., White, M., Unsicker, J. & Hodgkins, D. (2002). Global Appraisal of Individual Needs: Administration Guide for the GAIN and Related Measures. Bloomington, IL: Chestnut Health Systems.
Dennis, M. L., Scott, C. K., Funk, R. R. & Foss, M. A. (2005). The duration and correlates of addiction and treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 28(Supplement 1), S51–S62.Google Scholar
Estroff, T. W. & Hoffmann, N. G. (2001). PADDI: Practical Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Interview. Smithfield, RI: Evince Clinical Assessments.
Grisso, T. (2004). Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders with Mental Disorders. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Grisso, T. (2005). Why we need mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice programs. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press, pp. 3–21.
Grisso, T. & Barnum, R. (2006). Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument – Version 2: User's Manual and Technical Report. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.
Grisso, T. & Quinlan, J. C. (2005). Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument – Version 2. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. Guilford Press, pp. 99–111.
Grisso, T. & Underwood, L. (2004). Screening and Assessing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Resource Guide for Practitioners. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Grisso, T. & Vincent, G. (2005). The context for mental health screening and assessment. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press, pp. 44–70.
Grisso, T., Vincent, G. & Seagrave, D. (eds.) (2005). Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
Hodges, K. (2000). Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, 3rd edn. Ypsilanti: Eastern Michigan University.
Hodges, K. (2005). Child and adolescent functional assessment scale. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press, pp. 123–136.
Hodges, K. & Wong, M. (1997). Use of the child and adolescent functional assessment scale to predict service utilization and cost. Journal of Mental Health Administration, 24, 278–290.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1993). Adolescent mental health: prevention and treatment programs. American Psychologist, 48, 127–141.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (2000). Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents: Directions for Research and Practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Loney, B. & Counts, C. (2005). Scales for assessing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press, pp. 166–184.
Lyons, J., Griffin, E., Fazio, M. & Lyons, B. (1999). Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths: An Information Integration Tool for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Challenges (CANS-MH), Manual. Chicago: Buddin Praed Foundation.
Mash, E. J. & Dozois, D. J. (2003). Child psychopathology: A developmental-systems perspective. In Mash, E. J. and Barkley, R. A. eds., Child Psychopathology, 2nd edn. New York, NY: Guilford Press, pp. 3–74.
Mash, E. J. & Terdal, L. G. (eds.) (1997). Assessment of Childhood Disorders, 3rd edn. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Miller, F. & Lazowski, L. (2001). The Adolescent Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-A2 (SASSI-A2) Manual. Springville, IN: SASSI Institute.
Rahdert, E. (1991). The Adolescent Assessment/Referral System. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Rudd, P. (1989). The prevalence of suicidal ideation among college students. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 19, 173–183.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1989). Isle of Wight revisited: twenty-five years of child psychiatric epidemiology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 633–653.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Dulcan, M.et al. (1996). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-2.3): description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 865–877.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C., Dulcan, M. & Schwab-Stone, M. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV): description, differences from previous versions, and reliability on some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28–38.Google Scholar
Synder, H. & Sickmund, M. (1999). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Teplin, L. A. (1994). Psychiatric and substance abuse disorders among male urban detainees. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 290–293.Google Scholar
Teplin, L. A., Abram, K. M., McClelland, G. M., Dulcan, M. K. & Mericle, A. A. (2002). Psychiatric disorders in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 1133–1143.Google Scholar
Trupin, E. & Boesky, L. (1999). Working Together for Change: Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System (Curriculum). Delmar, NY: The National GAINS Center.
Wasserman, G., Jensen, P. & Ko, S. (2003). Mental health assessments in juvenile justice: report on the Consensus Conference. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 751–761.Google Scholar
Wasserman, G., McReynolds, L., Fisher, P. & Lucas, C. (2005). Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children: present state voice version. In Grisso, T., Vincent, G. and Seagrave, D., eds., Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice. New York, NY: Guildford Press, pp. 224–239.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice
    • By Gina M. Vincent, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Thomas Grisso, Professor, Law and Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Anna Terry, Research Associate, Law & Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue Norh, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
  • Edited by Carol L. Kessler, Columbia University, New York, Louis James Kraus, Rush University, Chicago
  • Book: The Mental Health Needs of Young Offenders
  • Online publication: 11 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543913.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice
    • By Gina M. Vincent, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Thomas Grisso, Professor, Law and Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Anna Terry, Research Associate, Law & Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue Norh, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
  • Edited by Carol L. Kessler, Columbia University, New York, Louis James Kraus, Rush University, Chicago
  • Book: The Mental Health Needs of Young Offenders
  • Online publication: 11 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543913.014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Mental health screening and assessment in juvenile justice
    • By Gina M. Vincent, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Thomas Grisso, Professor, Law and Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA, Anna Terry, Research Associate, Law & Psychiatry Program Department of Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue Norh, WSH 8B Worcester, MA 01655 USA
  • Edited by Carol L. Kessler, Columbia University, New York, Louis James Kraus, Rush University, Chicago
  • Book: The Mental Health Needs of Young Offenders
  • Online publication: 11 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543913.014
Available formats
×