TY - JOUR
T1 - Addressing A Mental Health Intervention Gap in Juvenile Detention
T2 - A Pilot Study
AU - Duchschere, Jennifer E.
AU - Reznik, Samantha J.
AU - Shanholtz, Caroline E.
AU - O’Hara, Karey L.
AU - Gerson, Nadav
AU - Beck, Connie J.
AU - Lawrence, Erika
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Research suggests that 60–70% of adolescents detained in the juvenile justice system meet criteria for a mental health disorder compared to 20% of the general adolescent population; however, the vast majority do not receive services. Unfortunately, mental health symptoms often worsen during detainment, and detainment is linked to lower levels of educational attainment and increased risk of adult recidivism. Thus, not only are these adolescents unlikely to receive needed mental health care but also the lack of interventions in detention may exacerbate inequities of contact with the criminal justice system in adulthood. In addition to these youth being an underserved population broadly, youth of color are also disproportionately incarcerated compared to their white counterparts. The current paper describes results of a pilot study of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based behavioral skills intervention, aimed at providing evidence-based mental health treatment for anadolescent population at risk of long-term adverse mental health outcomes. The study included 128 males aged 14–17 who resided in juvenile detention. Results demonstrated that the intervention was acceptable to participants, feasible to provide in detention, and could be implemented with fidelity and competency. Intervention participants demonstrated declines in symptoms of mental health, and ACT-specific constructs of experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and perceived barriers to moving toward their values. These results have important implications for the possibility of an effective intervention that could disrupt systemic inequity in youth mental health, and thus support further testing of this intervention in a randomized controlled trial.
AB - Research suggests that 60–70% of adolescents detained in the juvenile justice system meet criteria for a mental health disorder compared to 20% of the general adolescent population; however, the vast majority do not receive services. Unfortunately, mental health symptoms often worsen during detainment, and detainment is linked to lower levels of educational attainment and increased risk of adult recidivism. Thus, not only are these adolescents unlikely to receive needed mental health care but also the lack of interventions in detention may exacerbate inequities of contact with the criminal justice system in adulthood. In addition to these youth being an underserved population broadly, youth of color are also disproportionately incarcerated compared to their white counterparts. The current paper describes results of a pilot study of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based behavioral skills intervention, aimed at providing evidence-based mental health treatment for anadolescent population at risk of long-term adverse mental health outcomes. The study included 128 males aged 14–17 who resided in juvenile detention. Results demonstrated that the intervention was acceptable to participants, feasible to provide in detention, and could be implemented with fidelity and competency. Intervention participants demonstrated declines in symptoms of mental health, and ACT-specific constructs of experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and perceived barriers to moving toward their values. These results have important implications for the possibility of an effective intervention that could disrupt systemic inequity in youth mental health, and thus support further testing of this intervention in a randomized controlled trial.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129584480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85129584480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/23794925.2022.2042873
DO - 10.1080/23794925.2022.2042873
M3 - Article
SN - 2379-4925
VL - 8
SP - 236
EP - 251
JO - Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
JF - Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
IS - 2
ER -