Jeremiah W. Jaggers

Studies informing gender-responsive programming in the juvenile justice system reveal high levels of mental health problems amongst girls; however, relatively neglected has been attention to thought disturbances. A major impediment in this regard is that the Thought Disturbance subscale of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-2 (MAYSI-2), the most widely used screening measure for mental health problems amongst detained youth, was not deemed reliable for use with girls in the original validation studies. Given the pervasive use of the MAYSI-2 and the importance of identifying thought disturbance amongst girls, a more robust evaluation is needed. An evaluation of the measurement properties, including confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, and measurement invariance models, was conducted in a sample of 5615 detained youth. Findings suggested that the Thought Disturbance subscale may be suitable for mental health screening with girls.

This study used a person-centered approach to determine the relationship between violent behavior and health services use in a nationally representative cohort. This longitudinal analysis used data from Waves 1–3 (n = 5,114) of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Data, including social, familial, and behavioral health survey variables. This study used variables indicating the participant had or had not received counseling, substance abuse, and/or sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment. In addition, respondents were asked if they ever needed care but did not receive it, and if they had ever shot or stabbed someone. Latent Transition Analysis was used to identify specific classes of violent behavior and health service utilization. Latent transition analysis (LTA) also describes changes between specified latent classes, how classes are characterized, and the probability of changing groups. Between 80 and 98 percent of participants recorded not receiving services, and 20–23 percent report needing care but not receiving it. Using Collins and Lanza’s approach to LTA, a three-status model was optimal based upon both model fit and parsimony. This resulted in groups with a Low Lifetime Probability and Low Service Utilization (LPLS), Low Youth Probability and Unmet Service Needs (YPUS), and Low Adult Probability with High Service Engagement (APSE). The probability of engaging in violence was directly associated with need and utilization of health and mental health services. Results suggest that one potential mechanism to prevent or mitigate violent behavior is to ensure adequate, timely health and mental health treatment are received.

Although trauma exposure (TE) has been shown to be a robust predictor of youth involvement in the juvenile justice system, evidence regarding the role of TE amongst youth who recidivate has been more mixed. Recidivist youth are a population of particular concern, given evidence of declining mental health and diminished likelihood of returning to an adaptive developmental course. One way in which TE may contribute to these negative outcomes over time is through potentiating or “driving” mental health problems, which are especially prevalent among trauma-exposed youth in the justice system. To examine this hypothesis, longitudinal data were obtained over a 10-year period from a sample of 5615 juvenile justice-involved youth (1499 girls and 4116 boys) who completed a mental health screening at each admission to detention. Results of analyses assessing the associations among trauma exposure, linear and quadratic time, and mental health problems were consistent with the hypothesis that increases in TE were associated with increasing anger/irritability, depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, and suicidal ideation across repeat admissions. With the exception of alcohol/drug use, all mental health outcomes followed a quadratic trajectory over the course of multiple admissions. Rates of mental health problems were consistently highest for girls and White youth across all waves. These results add to our understanding of the role of trauma in mental health problems among persistent offenders and may help to inform interventions designed to reduce youth contact with the potentially iatrogenic effects of justice system involvement.

The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument 2 (MAYSI-2) is a widely used mental health screening tool for juveniles entering detention. Racial/ethnic differences have been previously identified, however less attention has been given to such differences among girls. Few studies have examined the relationship between subscale score and risk levels that are used to inform institutional responses. The purpose of this study was to describe racial differences in MAYSI-2 subscale scores and risk categories among girls screened in a short-term correctional facility. Data included all administrations for 1,447 girls in detention. Results indicated significant racial/ethnic differences on multiple subscales. These findings suggest the value of considering ethnic and cultural factors when conducting mental health screenings of justice-involved girls.

Research has shown that focusing on patterns across concurrent mental health problems may increase accuracy and treatment efficacy, potentially reducing further justice system involvement. This is critical given that over one-third of girls and two-thirds of boys exhibit significant mental health problems fifteen years after release from detention. The purpose of this study was to identify mental health risk profiles of justice-involved youth. Secondarily, the differentiating impact of trauma and race on those groups was examined. Latent profile analysis was used to identify mental health risk profiles among boys ( n = 3550) and girls ( n = 1212) involved in the juvenile justice system. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the impact of trauma exposure and race on class membership. A 4-class model was determined to have the best fit for both boys and girls. Logistic regression showed that levels of trauma significantly differed across classes. In addition, some racial differences were noted for both boy and girl classification profiles. Results of this study demonstrate that there are patterns of underlying mental health concerns among youth in the juvenile justice system. Moreover, these patterns are associated with traumatic experiences, further demonstrating trauma exposure may be a gateway to other psychosocial challenges.

Purpose This study examines a three-day trauma informed workshop with 32 mental health providers in a rural community that borders an American Indian reservation to determine if there is an association with positive trauma-informed care (TIC) attitudes. Methods Thirty-two workshop participants were invited to take the Attitudes Related to Trauma Informed Care (ARTIC-45) scale pre-workshop, post-, and six months- after the workshop. Results were analyzed at the group-level using t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for subscales that were not normally distributed. Results Pre- to Post- (Time 1) findings reveal statistically significant positive changes in all ARTIC subscales. However, post-workshop to six months follow-up (Time 2) four subscales showed statistically significant decreases. This seems to be an indication that these trauma-informed attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs had gotten worse with time. There were three subscales without significant change. Conclusion The findings should be interpreted with caution but point to plausible implications related to the decline in trauma-informed attitudes such as, lack of ongoing training following the workshop, limitations in workforce and resources within the rural community, unaddressed implicit bias, and needing more organizational leadership buy-in and resources.

The aims of this study were to (a) classify the types of individuals who might be most appropriately served by a mental health court (MHC) and (2) describe the association between class membership on recidivism and MHC completion. Criminal and treatment history data for 350 MHC participants were used. Class memberships were derived using hidden Markov models. Mediation analysis was then used determine the relationship between class, successful MHC completion, and recidivism. Modeling identified a three-class solution and a subsequent path analysis found that those classes associated with lower criminal justice system involvement were more likely to finish MHC successfully and were less likely to recidivate. This study supports research showing patterns of criminal behavior and health/mental health service use is associated with MHC completion and recidivism. The classification of individuals presented here may help court professionals determine to whom MHC should be offered.

The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2) is one of the most widely utilized screening measures for detecting mental health concerns among youth entering juvenile detention settings. Previous research has demonstrated clear patterns of sex differences in the severity of mental health symptoms among detained boys and girls. However, few studies have examined potential racial or ethnic differences in MAYSI-2 scores, which is a significant limitation. This study examined sex and racial/ethnic differences in patterns of youth responses on the MAYSI-2. Data were collected from a total of 5417 youth detained in a short-term detention facility in the Mountain West. Results of latent profile analyses demonstrated that, among both boys and girls, youths’ racial/ethnic identity was associated with distinct patterns of responding on the MAYSI-2. These findings have implications for informing screening in the juvenile justice system and increasing recognition and response to ethnic/racial and sex differences among detained youth.