As states cut mental health programs in communities and schools, they are increasingly relying on the juvenile corrections system to handle a generation of young offenders with psychiatric disorders. About two-thirds of the nation’s juvenile inmates have at least one mental illness, according to surveys of youth prisons, and are more in need of therapy than punishment (e.g. Becker, S.P., Kerig, P., Lim, J., & Ezechukwu, R. 2012).
During this research, I plan to …show more content…
examine the reasons why mental illness in juveniles between the ages 10-17 can be recognized as a behavioral problem rather than a disability. This research will investigate predictors of recidivism among juvenile delinquents. Data and statistics can be gathered from the juvenile delinquents files that consist of court judgments. Demographic, behavioral, familial, school-related, and crime-related variables will be examined in the study. Additionally, the relationships between length of incarceration and number of subsequent offenses for violent and property first-time offenders will be investigated.
Hypothesis The reason why I chose to research “The Challenging Effects of Recidivism: Underlying Mental Illness among Juveniles and Adults within the Judicial System.
I am a firm believer of the quote “if you do the crime, you should do the time”, however unless the underlining issue is addressed, the behavior will continue in some form or another. The meaning of this quote could be altered by the underlining message not being address due to the repetitiveness of the person’s behavior. These disorders range from manic depression to severely psychoses like schizophrenia and anxiety disorders to individuals whom suffers from a mental illness are often in denial about the existence of their mental instability. Understanding the correlations of substance abuse and mental illness is an area that needs evaluation. There is a high degree of substance abuse that exist among criminal and mentally ill offenders (Welch-Brewer, C. L., Stoddard-Dare, P., & Mallet, C. A. 2011). We must realize the importance of considering the role that substance abuse along with mental disorders may play in the criminal justice
system.
Research Question
1. Do juveniles that reenter the judicial system get evaluated for mental illness?
2. What is the age of the offender?
3. Does substance abuse have an outcome to delinquent behavior?
4. If mental health disorders are treated, will it reduce the recidivism among juveniles?
5. Is mental health disorders a key to most delinquent behavior?