A Longitudinal Study of Truant Youth Mental Health Functioning and Crime

• In Event: Mental Health and Adjustment Among Systems-Involved Youth

Abstract

Youth at risk for delinquency, both boys and girls, experience mental health problems at higher rates than youth in the general population, with continuities in these problems over time. Relatively few studies have tracked the complex relationships between youths’ mental health functioning in multiple domains (e.g., ADHD, depression, anxiety, and mania) and their offense behavior. We report results of a longitudinal analysis of emotional/psychological functioning among 300 truant youths in a NIDA-funded clinical trial examining the impact of a brief intervention (BI) among drug involved truants. Latent profile analysis identified subgroups of youths differing in their reports of symptoms associated with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and mania. These subgroups of youth were compared on a variety of sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics at baseline (e.g., gender, marijuana use). We also compared the subgroups’ number of arrest charges during a 19 through 24 month follow-up period. Results indicate longitudinal relationships of mental health with crime. A BI x latent profile subgroup interaction was found: high mania-low depression youth receiving BI services had a lower rate of follow-up arrest charges, than high mania-low depression youth receiving usual truancy services. We discuss explanations of the findings and the service delivery and policy implications our findings.

Authors

• Richard Dembo, University of South Florida

• Jennifer Wareham, Wayne State University

• James Schmeidler, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

• Ken C. Winters, University of Minnesota

• Rhissa Robinson, University of South Florida