Citation

Zhou Z, Xiong H, Jia R, Yang G, Guo T, Meng Z, Huang G, Zhang Y. PLoS One 2012; 7(5): e37199.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0037199

PMID

22629367

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To assess the behavioral risk factors and mental health needs of adolescents in juvenile detention centers (JDC). METHOD: A total of 238 boys aged 12-17 years was surveyed who had been admitted to a detention center and compared them with boys from the community (n = 238) matched for sex and age. We assessed behavioral risk factors and mental health problems by using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire (YRBS) and the Youth Self-Report questionnaire (YSR). RESULTS: Young offenders had significantly higher YRBS scores than controls for drug use (odds ratio (OR) 5.16, 95% CI 2.27-7.84), sexual intercourse (OR, 2.51; 95% CI 1.55-2.90), irregular diet (4.78, 2.11-7.51), suicide attempts (1.96, 1.32-5.85), and physical fighting behavior (3.49, 1.60-7.07), but not for tobacco use, alcohol use, and high-risk cycling. Young offenders at the time of admission (6.61, 2.58-15.2), at 6 months (3.12, 1.81-10.1), and at 12 months (5.29, 1.98-13.3) reported statistically higher levels of total mental health problems than adolescents in a community sample. CONCLUSIONS: Young offenders have a high rate of mental and behavioral disorders. In the detention period, aggressive behavior, self-destructive/identity, and externalizing of problems improved while withdrawn, anxious or depressed, and internalizing of problems worsened.

Language: en