Poster #27 - The Role of Hopelessness and Procedural Justice on Depressogenic Outcomes in Serious Adolescent Offenders

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescent depression and suicide are increasing public health concerns. This is especially true for adolescents involved in the Juvenile Justice System (JJS), who are over 7 times as likely to present with a depression diagnosis (Na & Cho, 2019) and approximately twice as likely to report suicidal ideation (Stokes et al., 2015). While studies have examined depression and suicide risk within justice-involved youth with regard to adverse childhood experiences, few studies have identified dynamic risk factors. Dynamic risks, such as cognitive vulnerabilities, are robust predictors of depression outcomes that can be targeted via preventive interventions. Hopelessness, expectations for negative events and/or thoughts that one’s actions do not influence the events, is a commonly targeted cognitive vulnerability for adolescent depression and suicidal outcomes, but has received little attention within the JJS. Meanwhile, perceptions of procedural justice, how fair an individual believes they were treated throughout a legal process, is a dynamic risk examined in JJS contexts, but its relation with adolescent depression outcomes is virtually unknown. Thus, the present study examined how hopelessness and procedural justice collectively predict future depression and suicidal ideation within this vulnerable population. Further, we examined how risk may differ based on race/ethnicity and gender.
Method: The present study used data from 1,354 adolescents (86.4% male; 41.4% non-Hispanic Black; 33.5% Hispanic; 20.2% non-Hispanic White; AgeM=16.04; AgeSD=1.14) adjudicated for serious offenses collected as a part of the Pathways to Desistance Study. For the present study, respondents answered questions on procedural justice, hopelessness, depression, and suicidal ideation across 11 time points over 7 years. Using a latent growth modelling framework, we estimated two separate models for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, with the predictors being the levels and trajectories of procedural justice and hopelessness. Subsequently, we examined if procedural injustice mediated the relation between hopelessness and our outcomes. Finally, multigroup models tested whether the relation between cognitive vulnerabilities and outcomes varied as a function of race/ethnicity or gender.
Results: Consistent with a lifespan approach, we identified two discontinuous trajectories for adolescents (Wave 1-Wave 6; Ages 16.04-18.50) and emerging adults (Wave 7-Wave 9; Ages 20.03-22.03) across vulnerabilities and outcomes. Table 1 summarizes findings related to our hypotheses. Overall, we found that baseline hopelessness predicted depression levels and trajectories during adolescence (ps<.01). Further, changes in hopelessness and procedural justice predicted levels and changes in depression (ps<.01). With regard to suicidal ideation, only levels and changes of hopelessness in emerging adulthood were significant (ps < .01). The relation between cognitive vulnerabilities and depression outcomes were invariant across race/ethnicity and gender (ps > .10).
Discussion: Hopelessness and perceived injustice reflect unique predictors of depression for juvenile justice-involved youth, while hopelessness conferred unique risk for suicidal ideation. In addition, the identification of discontinuous trajectories suggests that different risks and correlates may be expected for depression-vulnerable JJS-involved adolescents and emerging adults. Given that the discontinuity emerges around age 18, this further supports the need for programs to stratify well-being initiatives for depression based on development, with potentially tailored protocols for adolescents and emerging adults.

Authors

• Morgan Stutts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Joseph Rich Cohen