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EXAMINING MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE-INVOLVED ADOLESCENTS OVER TIME: A LATENT TRANSITION ANALYSIS

Harris, Leon Aaron, III
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4553-7923
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522961044971365

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Social Welfare.
Mental illness has long been identified as a significant issue among juvenile justice-involved adolescents. These issues are even more pronounced in adolescents who have experienced contacts with law enforcement, court personnel, and juvenile detention facilities. Some research reports that different subpopulations of mental health symptomatology exist among community samples of youth, and it is thought that this may also be true among juvenile justice-involved adolescents. Previous research has documented differences in mental health issues that have been related to individual characteristics such as age, race, and gender. Past studies have also found contextual factors such as poly-location exposure to violence (ETV) to contribute to the mental health problems of adolescents, specifically juvenile justice-involved adolescents. It is important that social welfare researchers and practitioners understand how individual factors and poly-location ETV may contribute to adverse behaviors, so that practical treatment programs can be developed to prevent or reduce further mental health volatility. This study explored whether specific subpopulations or profiles of mental health symptomatology exist among a juvenile justice sample. This study also examined whether individual characteristics and poly-location ETV contributed to profile membership over time. Additionally, the relationship between profile membership at Successful Treatment Completion and later delinquent or criminal behavior was examined. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Behavioral Health and Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) diversion program. A total of 1,341 adolescents (ages 12-17) who were enrolled in BHJJ were included in this study. Data were collected at Intake, from three different data sources (youth, parent, and service worker), and at Successful Completion of Treatment. Mental health issues were measured using the worker report of the Ohio Scales Problem Severity Scale. This study found that three (normative, externalizing, and high symptomatology) distinct profiles of mental health symptomatology existed among the study sample. The odds of belonging to the high symptomatology profile was more than two times (OR= 2.60; p <.001) higher for juvenile justice-involved males when compared to juvenile justice-involved females. In addition, the odds of belonging to the high symptomatology profile decreased (OR= 0.51; p <.001) for juvenile justice-involve youth who reported no poly-location ETV. The findings of this study highlighted the need for improved treatment that accounts for individual characteristics and poly-location ETV, when managing mental health issues. Analysis also found a statistically significant relationship between profile assignment at Successful Treatment Completion and recidivism. In the future, researchers should continue to conduct longitudinal studies that focus on juvenile justice-involved females exhibiting severe mental health symptomatology.
Daniel Flannery (Committee Chair)
123 p.
Criminology; Social Work; Statistics; Welfare
Mental Health; Juvenile Justice; Latent Transition Analysis; LTA

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Harris, III, L. A. (2018). EXAMINING MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE-INVOLVED ADOLESCENTS OVER TIME: A LATENT TRANSITION ANALYSIS [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522961044971365

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Harris, III, Leon. EXAMINING MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE-INVOLVED ADOLESCENTS OVER TIME: A LATENT TRANSITION ANALYSIS. 2018. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522961044971365.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Harris, III, Leon. "EXAMINING MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE-INVOLVED ADOLESCENTS OVER TIME: A LATENT TRANSITION ANALYSIS." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1522961044971365

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.