The role of psychosocial risk factors and mental health needs in juvenile sentencing decisions.

摘要

Multiple psychosocial factors (e.g., poor family functioning, antisocial peer groups, school problems, and poverty) contribute to the onset of delinquency and recidivism, and youthful offenders exhibit disproportionate rates of mental disorders compared to the general population. A corollary of the increased identification of mental disorders within the juvenile justice population is the increased use of clinical information to inform legal decision-making, particularly at sentencing. This study used a retrospective review of clinical evaluations to determine the relations among demographic, criminal, and psychosocial predictors and the final recommendations of the evaluating clinician and sentencing decision of the court. It also examined how clinicians' recommendations relate to judges' final decisions. Psychosocial risk factors and mental health were coded using the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths - Juvenile Justice version (CANS-JJ; Lyons, 1999).; The final sample included 248 youth ranging from 11 to 17 years old. Stepwise binary logistic regressions found that youth's custodial status, age at first offense, substance use/delinquency, family dysfunction, and externalizing problems all were significant predictors of clinical recommendations; whereas, custodial status, externalizing problems, and school problems predicted sentencing decisions. In all instances, higher dysfunction predicted secure placements. Clinical recommendations were highly significant predictors of court outcomes and accounted for over half the variance in sentencing decisions. The results suggest that some psychosocial variables independently predict clinical recommendations and sentencing decisions; however, other unmeasured variables must contribute to these decisions. The significant effect of clinicians' recommendations provided further evidence that psychological evaluations provide useful information during this critical phase of the juvenile court process.