Unpacking Systems Involvement in Childhood and Mental Health in Adulthood Among Incarcerated Persons Service JLWOP

• In Event: Stacked Risks of Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP): Childhood Systems Involvement, Adult Health, and Reentry Concerns

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood involvement in foster care, child protective services (CPS), and juvenile legals systems increases the odds of incarceration as adults. Yet we know little about how early systems involvement may impact mental health outcomes among adults sentenced as juvenile to life without parole (JLWOP).

Methods: We surveyed 430 incarcerated adults sentenced to JLWOP prior to 2012. Measures captured childhood system involvement, unmet mental health needs, and diagnosed mental health conditions while controlling for adverse childhood experiences and demographics.

Results: Respondents were mostly male (95%) and incarcerated for an average of 25.5 years. About 27% reported involvement in foster care, ~33% with CPS and ~62% reported pre-JLWOP detention; approximately 13% reported experience across all systems. Cumulative, cross-system exposure was associated with the greatest odds of unmet mental health needs and diagnoses (e.g., posttraumatic stress, substance use, bipolar, and conduct disorders). Foster care was most consistently associated with outcomes, partly explained by greater childhood adversity.

Discussion: Early, multisystem involvement predicts worse mental health outcomes across the life course among adults serving life imprisonment since childhood. Findings provide context to emphasize prevention for child welfare youth and speaks to the need to provide robust mental health services in prisons and upon reentry.

Authors

• Laura S. Abrams, University of Southern California

• Daphne Brydon, University of Cincinnati

• Jeffrey T. Ward, Temple University

• Leah Ouellet, Rutgers University

• Dylan B. Jackson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health