Mortality in a group of formerly incarcerated juvenile delinquents
Article Abstract:
Past studies have found that juvenile delinquents have much more adverse medical histories than demographically comparable nondelinquents. The incidence of accidents and illnesses is much higher among juvenile delinquents, as is risk for early violent death. In the last three and one half decades, the rate of homicide among young people doubled, and the rate of suicide tripled. A subgroup of former seriously delinquent juveniles was examined to identify and explore factors which may have placed them at high risk for early death. A total of 118 juveniles, consisting of 97 male and 21 females, were followed-up seven years after they were released from a correctional institution. At the time of their release, these subjects had received comprehensive psychiatric, neurological, and psychoeducational testing, and were assessed for family characteristics. Six males and one female from the original group died a violent death before the age of 25. This death rate is 58 times the national mortality for this age group (between 15 and 24 years), and the rate for violent death was 76 times than national average for this age group. The rate of mortality among white and nonwhite males was comparable, about 38 times the national average. Only one female is represented in this sample, but it is felt that if factors such as AIDS or other effects of chronic intravenous drug use were considered, the death rate of delinquent females would be much higher. No correlation was found between higher risk for violent death and the frequency of violent offenses. In most cases, previous attempts at suicide were not predictive, nor did mental illness in a parent distinguish any members of this group. Most of the original group were considered impulsive and violent, and had comparable rates of suicide attempts, early loss of a parent, neurological impairment, and paranoid symptoms. Overall, no specific risk factors could be identified as predictors of early death in this group of juvenile delinquents. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0002-953X
Year: 1990
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Early court adjudication of juvenile offenders: giving the data another chance
Article Abstract:
W.K. Brown, T.P. Miller, R.L. Jenkins and W.A. Rhodes err in arguing that the referral of juveniles offending for the first time to court reduces the chances of incarceration in adulthood. Their study on which this conclusion is based had the fatal flaw of comparing first-offenders who went through a trial with only first-offenders who did not but who, the record showed, reoffended as juveniles. Excluding from the data juveniles without a record as recidivists and who were not tried precludes a comparative evaluation of the prognoses of first offenders processed by the criminal justice system and those who were not. Why the researchers' causal conclusions err is also discussed.
Publication Name: International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0306-624X
Year: 1996
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The impact of juvenile justice reforms in India
Article Abstract:
Issues are discussed regarding the changes in India's juvenile justice system following passage of the Juvenile Justice Act of 1986. How these changes influenced the types of cases brought before the juvenile courts and the types of sentences imposed on delinquents is emphasized.
Publication Name: International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0306-624X
Year: 2000
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