Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Predictors of Criminal Charges for Youth in Public Mental Health During the Transition to Adulthood

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dual involvement with the mental health system and justice system is relatively frequent for young adults with mental health problems, yet the research on factors predictive of dual involvement is incomplete. This study extends past research on predictors of criminal charges for people in the public mental health system in four ways. First, this study expands the longitudinal study period to include the time of transition to adulthood, from 16 to 25 years of age. Second, this study separately predicts specific types of criminal charges, including violent, property, drug, and nuisance charges. Third, this study examines whether residential treatment or inpatient hospitalization are predictive of criminal charges. Fourth, this study stratifies prediction by gender. Findings indicated high levels of dual involvement during this time period. In general, males and people diagnosed with substance use disorder or conduct disorder were more likely to have a criminal charge. Other predictors of specific criminal charges varied by gender. Residential treatment, inpatient hospitalization, and anxiety disorder were generally not related to criminal charges. Implications for cross-system collaboration and early intervention are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altschuler, D. M. (2005). Policy and program perspectives on the transition to adulthood for adolescents in the juvenile justice system. In D. W. Osgood, E. M. Foster, C. Flanagan, & G. R. Ruth (Eds.), On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations (pp. 92–113). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltodano, H. M., Mathur, S. R., & Rutherford, R. B. (2005). Transition of incarcerated youth with disabilities across systems and into adulthood. Exceptionality, 13, 103–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H. L., Little, M., & Steinberg, L. (2005). The transition to adulthood for adolescents in the juvenile justice system: A developmental perspective. In D. W. Osgood, E. M. Foster, C. Flanagan, & G. R. Ruth (Eds.), On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations (pp. 68–91). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, N. L., Puritz, P., & Shang, W. (1998). Fulfilling the promise of in re Gault: Advancing the role of lawyers for children. Wake Forest Law Review, 33, 651–679.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. (2003). Addressing the needs of youth in transition to adulthood. Administration and Policy In Mental Health, 30, 495–509.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., Banks, S. M., Fisher, W. H., & Grudzinskas, A. J., Jr. (2004). Longitudinal patterns of offending during the transition to adulthood in youth from the mental health system. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 31, 351–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., Banks, S. M., Fisher, W. H., Gershenson, B., & Grudzinskas, A. J., Jr. (2007). Arrests of adolescent clients of a public mental health system during adolescence and young adulthood. Psychiatric Services, 58, 1454–1460.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., Fisher, W. H., Gershenson, B., Grudzinskas, A. J., & Banks, S. M. (2009). Justice system involvement into young adulthood: Comparison of adolescent girls in the public mental health system and in the general population. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 234–236.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, L. (1990). Universal behavioral and demographic correlates of criminal behavior: Toward common ground in the assessment of criminological theories. In L. Ellis & H. Hoffman (Eds.), Crime in biological, moral, and social contexts (pp. 36–49). New York: Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evens, C. C., & Vander Stoep, A. (1997). Risk factors for juvenile justice system referral among children in a public mental health system. Journal of Mental Health Administration, 24, 443–455.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feld, B. C. (2009). Violent girls or relabeled status offenders? An alternative interpretation of the data. Crime & Delinquency, 55, 241–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graves, K. N., Frabutt, J. M., & Shelton, T. L. (2007). Factors associated with mental health and juvenile justice involvement among children with severe emotional disturbance. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5, 147–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henggeler, S. W., Cunningham, P. B., Pickrel, S. G., & Schoenwald, S. K. (1996). Multisystemic therapy: An effective violence prevention approach for serious juvenile offenders. Journal of Adolescence, 19, 47–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herz, D. C. (2001). Understanding the use of mental health placements by the juvenile justice system. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9, 172–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, D. W., & Lemeshow, S. (2000). Applied logistic regression (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. M., & Potter, C. C. (2003). The effects of cross-system collaboration on mental health and substance abuse problems of detained youth. Research on Social Work Practice, 13, 588–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson, P., & Kempf-Leonard, K. (2009). A gender-specific pathway to serious, violent, and chronic offending? Exploring Howell’s risk factors for serious delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 55, 216–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipsey, M. W. (1995). What do we learn from 400 research studies on the effectiveness of treatment with juvenile delinquents? In: J. McGuire (Ed.), What works: Reducing reoffending, guidelines from research and practice (pp. 63–78). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Pullmann, M. D., Kerbs, J., Koroloff, N., Veach-White, E., Gaylor, R., & Sieler, D. (2006). Juvenile offenders with mental health needs: Reducing recidivism using wraparound. Crime & Delinquency, 52, 375–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quist, R. M., & Matshazi, D. G. M. (2000). The child and adolescent functional assessment scale (CAFAS): A dynamic predictor of juvenile recidivism. Adolescence, 35, 181–192.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ritakallio, M., Kaltiala Heino, R., Kivivuori, J., Luukkaala, T., & Rimpela, M. (2006). Delinquency and the profile of offences among depressed and non-depressed adolescents. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 16, 100–110.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, J. A., Rosenblatt, A., & Biggs, E. E. (2000). Criminal behavior and emotional disorder: Comparing youth served by the mental health and juvenile justice systems. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 27, 227–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, M. A., Snowden, L., & Libby, A. M. (2002). From mental health to juvenile justice: What factors predict this transition? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11, 299–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, D. G., & Trupin, E. W. (2003). Clinical utility and policy implications of a statewide mental health screening process for juvenile offenders. Psychiatric Services, 54, 377–382.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stolzenberg, L., & D’Alessio, S. (2007). Co-offending and the age-crime curve. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 45, 65–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teplin, L. A., Abram, K. M., McClelland, G. M., Dulcan, M. K., & Mericle, A. A. (2002). Psychiatric disorders in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 1133–1143.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, J. D., Gourley, G. K., & Mele, N. C. (2004). Screening youth in the juvenile justice system for behavioral health disorders. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 42, 28–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, P. E., Kempf-Leonard, K., & Abramoske-James, S. (2009). Gender differences in delinquency and juvenile justice processing: Evidence from national data. Crime & Delinquency, 55, 171–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trupin, E. W., Turner, A. P., Stewart, D. G., & Wood, P. (2004). Transition planning and recidivism among mentally ill juvenile offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22, 599–610.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by Vanderbilt University and by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (RO1 MH-70680 and T32 MH-019544 to Dr. Craig Anne Heflinger, and RO1 MH-067862-01A1 to Dr. Maryann Davis). I would like to thank Dr. Fred Altaffer and Thomas Athearn at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the research staff at the Criminal Offender Record Information and the Office of Probation for their assistance in accessing these databases. I would also like to thank Drs. Craig Anne Heflinger, Maryann Davis, Paul Dokecki, and Mark Lipsey for their important contributions in the development of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy, University of Washington, 2815 Eastlake Ave. East, Suite 200, Box 358015, Seattle, WA, 98102, USA

    M. D. Pullmann

Authors
  1. M. D. Pullmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. D. Pullmann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pullmann, M.D. Predictors of Criminal Charges for Youth in Public Mental Health During the Transition to Adulthood. J Child Fam Stud 19, 483–491 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9320-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9320-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation