Legal system contact tied to years of worse mental health in teens
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Youth who have contact with the U.S. legal system may be at increased risk of mental health symptoms, including anxiety, depression, hostility and psychoticism, according to a study published in PLOS One by Raquel V. Oliveira and Elizabeth Culatta from Augusta University.
Prior research indicates that both adults and youths with mental health issues are overrepresented in the criminal legal system. For example, while 15%–22% of all U.S. youths are estimated to have a diagnosable mental health condition, 40%–80% of incarcerated youths do.
To better understand how contact with the criminal legal system is associated with mental health, the authors of this study analyzed data from the Pathways to Desistance study, which followed 1,354 youths who had faced adjudication from a judge in Phoenix and Philadelphia. The participants were first interviewed between November 2000 and January 2003, when they were ages 14 to 18, and follow-up interviews were then conducted over a seven-year period.
The authors explored whether different types of contact with the legal system, including arrest, court appearances and institutionalization, were associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, hostility and psychoticism.
The experience of being arrested was associated with worse short-term mental health, including more symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychoticism. Being institutionalized was also associated with increased symptoms of depression, hostility and psychoticism in the short term. While court appearances had only a short-term association with decreased anxiety (perhaps indicating relief from the uncertainty of the buildup to the appearance), they had significant long-term associations with increases in anxiety, depression and psychoticism.
The authors found in their analyses that having two or more concurrent contacts with the legal system is associated with more consistent long-term effects on mental health symptoms. They also note—unsurprisingly—that other factors associated with worse mental health symptoms included substance use and participating in crime, as well as taking mental health medication (likely prescribed to help treat these symptoms).
The Pathways to Desistance study limited the number of male drug offenses it included, making it less representative of all offenses nationwide. Additionally, the study can identify only associations rather than causative factors. Nonetheless, the authors suggest that contact with the criminal legal system might be a stressor for youth that can affect mental health symptoms and persist years into the future.
The authors add, "Our findings are aligned with prior research and highlight the importance of continued focus on diversion programming and adequate mental health support for youth coming into contact with the criminal legal system."
Publication details
Effects of differential contacts with the criminal legal system on mental health outcomes of adolescents and young adults: A fixed-effects model, PLOS One (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0344895
Journal information: PLoS ONE
Key medical concepts
Anxiety DisordersDepressionPsychotic DisordersDisorder, Substance UsePsychotropic Drugs
Clinical categories
PsychiatryPsychology & Mental healthPediatricsChildren's health Provided by Public Library of Science Who's behind this story?
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