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Youth Pathways to Placement: The Influence of Gender, Mental Health Need and Trauma on Confinement in the Juvenile Justice System

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Abstract

Although the juvenile crime rate has generally declined, the involvement of girls in the juvenile justice system has been increasing. Possible explanations for this gender difference include the impact of exposure to trauma and mental health needs on developmental pathways and the resulting influence of youth’s involvement in the justice system. This study examined the influence of gender, mental health needs and trauma on the risk of out-of-home placement for juvenile offenders. The sample included youth referred to three urban juvenile probation departments in Texas between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 and who received state-mandated mental health screening (N = 34,222; 30.1 % female). The analysis revealed that, for both genders, elevated scores on the seven factor-analytically derived subscales of a mental health screening instrument (Alcohol and Drug Use, Depressed-Anxious, Somatic Complaints, Suicidal Ideation, Thought Disturbance, and Traumatic Experiences), especially related to past traumatic experiences, influenced how deeply juveniles penetrated the system. The findings suggest that additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of trauma interventions and the implementation of trauma informed systems for youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the local juvenile probation departments for their support and collaboration during the data collection and study design efforts conducted for this study.

Author contributions

Each author contributed to the development of the study and the resulting article submission. EE was the primary researcher and conceived the study and performed the initial analysis and the initial implications of the study. JJ assisted with the initial analysis and conducted additional analysis to examine the exploratory hypothesis. ML contributed to the interpretation of the analysis and the impacts of trauma and trauma informed care. All three authors helped to write the article and approved the manuscript’s content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1717 West 6th Street, Ste. 335, Austin, TX, 78703, USA

    Erin M. Espinosa & Molly A. Lopez

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, East Carolina University, Rivers Building, Office #245, Mail Stop 505, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Jon R. Sorensen

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  1. Erin M. Espinosa
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  2. Jon R. Sorensen
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  3. Molly A. Lopez
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Correspondence to Erin M. Espinosa.

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Espinosa, E.M., Sorensen, J.R. & Lopez, M.A. Youth Pathways to Placement: The Influence of Gender, Mental Health Need and Trauma on Confinement in the Juvenile Justice System. J Youth Adolescence 42, 1824–1836 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9981-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9981-x

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