ArticleThe Psychiatric quarterly2017
Mental Health Referrals Reduce Recidivism in First-Time Juvenile Offenders, But How Do We Determine Who is Referred?
Article in The Psychiatric quarterly, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Devising a pathway from police contact to psychosocial support: reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with youth, families, police and services.Psychiatry, psychology, and law : an interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law · 2026Article
- Predictive Validity of the e-Connect Suicide Risk Classification Algorithm in Youth on Probation.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- The Landscape of Randomized Controlled Trials for Behavioral Health-Focused Psychosocial Interventions for Youth in the Juvenile Legal System: A Systematic Review.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Family Factors Associated With Delinquency Outcomes in Court-Involved Youth in Mental Health Treatment.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Juvenile Probation Officer's Individual and Organizational Characteristics on e-Connect Performance.Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care · 2025Article
- Breaking the cycle: connecting youth under community supervision to effective behavioral health services.Health & justice · 2025Review
- Evaluating e-Connect: Mitigating Race by Gender Disparities in Behavioral Health Referral Among Youths on Probation, Northeast United States, 2019.American journal of public health · 2023Article
- The Role of Family Factors in the Outcomes of Court-Involved Youth.Youth violence and juvenile justice · 2023Article
- "We should be resourcing their liberation:" a qualitative formative study to guide introduction of a systems engineering intervention at a King County, WA juvenile detention center clinic.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Perceptions of mental health services among the children who are in conflict with the law in Jammu and Kashmir.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- A Community-Based Youth Diversion Program as an Alternative to Incarceration, Illinois, 2017-2019.American journal of public health · 2022Article
- Factors Associated With Use of Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Services by Justice-Involved Youths.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2019Article
- Mental Health Symptoms and Delinquency among Court-Involved Youth Referred for Treatment.Children and youth services review · 2019Article
- Juvenile Justice System, Juvenile Mental Health, and the Role of MHPs: Challenges and Opportunities.Indian journal of psychological medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
While psychiatric disorders are common among juvenile delinquents, many mental health problems go undetected, increasing the likelihood for persistent difficulties. This is the first known study to examine mental health referral rates and recidivism in the juvenile justice system. In addition to the study, we review juvenile justice mental health screening to improve detection and treatment. Juvenile criminal records in conjunction with behavioral health screenings were analyzed to determine differences in referrals and recidivism among first time offenders. Recidivism rates were significantly lower (p = 0.04) and time to recidivism was significantly longer (p = 0.03) for those referred specifically for mental health services than for those without any referrals, even after adjusting for offense severity. While black youths had a significantly higher recidivism rate (p = 0.02) and a shorter time to recidivism (p = 0.009) than white youths, there was no significant difference between races when referred specifically for mental health services. Among the groups studied, black youths had the most profound positive effect from mental health referrals (p < 0.0001). This study indicates the importance of detecting mental health problems among juvenile delinquents, especially for black offenders. The apparent protective effect of mental health interventions necessitates screening that better identifies underlying psychosocial factors rather than strict reliance upon diagnostic criteria and self-report. Broader or even universal mental health referrals for juvenile offenders could reduce future legal system involvement and costs to society. We review potential reasons that mental health problems go undetected and provide recommendations.
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