Citation

Kamradt B. Juv. Justice 2000; 7(1): 14-23.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The estimated percentage of youth with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system varies from study to study. Estimates of diagnosable mental health disorders among the general population run about 20 percent. While there are no reliable national studies of the prevalence of mental health disorders among juvenile offenders, estimates from existing studies indicate that the rate for mental health disorders among juvenile offenders may be as high as 60 percent, of which an estimated 20 percent have severe mental health disorders (Cocozza, 1992).