Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention www.ojjdp.gov
between mental health and the juvenile justice system represents a challenging area for policymakers
and practitioners, because the exact relationship between mental health issues and problem behaviors
(such as delinquency) is not always clear (Schubert and Mulvey 2014). The research indicates there are
shared risk factors for mental health issues and juvenile justice involvement; however, the research is
less conclusive about whether mental health problems increase the odds of youth involvement in the
justice system or whether being a part of the justice system increases youths’ mental health problems.
Despite the prevalence of mental health disorders among justice-involved youths, particularly for those
processed further into the system, many do not receive services to meet their needs (Teplin et al. 2013).
In addition, there are discrepancies in referrals for treatment, particularly regarding race and gender
(Teplin et al. 2003; Spinney et al. 2016).
However, there are several evidence-based programs that specifically target youths with mental health
needs in the juvenile justice system and focus on reducing delinquency and other related problem
behaviors by properly addressing both criminogenic risk factors and the mental health needs of these
youths (Cuellar et al. 2006; Matthews et al. 2013).
References
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Abram, Karen M., Leah D. Paskar, Jason J. Washburn, Linda A. Teplin, Naomi A. Zwecker, and
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