Title : Health risk among justice-involved youth: A multi-risk, multigroup study

Abstract:

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system remain a significantly underserved population at markedly elevated risk for multiple problems, including traumatizing experiences, substance misuse, mental health, and sexually transmitted diseases.     A “trauma informed” focus is needed to identify and address the elevated health risks of these youth, especially health risk differences between female and male youth.  The present study examined the heterogeneity in traumatic and at-risk health experiences in a sample of newly arrested adolescents.  Analysis identified four latent class subgroups of male and female youth with overlapping and distinctive risk factors.  Conclusions are drawn in regard to differences in court response to male and female arrested youth, the importance of using biomarkers in health screening of arrested youth, and the need for health risk assessment at post arrest processing facilities.          

Biography:

Richard Dembo, Ph.D. is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is also an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, and a Fellow at the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center, who has a long-term interest in developing, implementing, and evaluating intervention programs for at-risk and high-risk youth