Citation

McCoy H, Vaughn MG, Maynard BR, Salas-Wright CP. Behav. Sci. Law 2014; 32(4): 508-526.

Affiliation

Jane Addams College of Social Work (MC 309), University of Illinois at Chicago.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2128

PMID

25060035

Abstract

Given the high prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders in the juvenile justice system and the emphasis on efficient screening and referrals, the current study sought to further validate the use of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument version 2 (MAYSI-2). Using data from institutionalized delinquents (N = 836) committed to the California Youth Authority, finite mixture modeling was employed to identify distinct latent classes based on MAYSI-2 scale scores. Identified classes were then compared across a range of covariates, including prior offenses, official records of misconduct, and multiple measures of mental health and psychological well-being.

FINDINGS revealed a three-class, gradient-based structure: low distress (n = 380), moderate distress (n = 327), and high distress (n = 129). Overall, the MAYSI-2 identified juvenile offenders with mental health and substance use issues, but it did not differentiate youths with respect to offending patterns. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en