Citation

Laure P, Meyer C. Arch. Pediatr. 2014; 21(10): 1079-1084.

Vernacular Title

Santé des jeunes sous main de justice : estime de soi, soutien parental perçu, projets.

Affiliation

Direction interrégionale de la protection judiciaire de la jeunesse Grand-Est, centre d'affaires, 109, boulevard d'Haussonville, CS 14109, 54041 Nancy cedex, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.arcped.2014.06.026

PMID

25104579

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe certain aspects of the physical and mental health of adolescents with restricted or deprived liberty as ordered by the court within the Youth Judicial Protection Service (YJP), and their ability to project themselves into the future.

METHODS: Survey by on-line self-administered questionnaires. POPULATION: Among the adolescents, 373 were randomly selected with restricted or deprived liberty, in the Lorraine region (eastern France). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were managed and analyzed using the Modalisa(®) 7.0 (Kynos, Paris, France) survey processing software. Depending on the type of variable, comparisons were made using the chi-square test or analysis of variance. The significance threshold used was P<0.05. MAIN RESULTS: The response rate was 47%. The respondents included 820% boys and 18% girls, with a mean age of 16.4±1.5 years. More than nine out of ten stated that they were satisfied with their health. Among the girls, 16.7% stated that they had already had thoughts of suicide (boys, 3.8%; P<0.05). Of the total population, 24% said that during the last 12 months, they had needed to see a doctor (or healthcare professional), but they had had to give up the consultation at least once (too far, too expensive, etc.). Their average overall Rosenberg self-esteem score was 32.4±6.4, roughly the same as their peers in the general population (girls, 28.2; boys, 33.2; P<0.05). They said that they had projects for the future and nearly eight out of ten stated that they were confident in their own ability to succeed in their life, especially those who felt supported by their parents.

DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, these facts had never been explored among adolescents with restricted or deprived liberty. This study shows results that do not match the usual representation of these adolescents by healthcare or education professionals. The quality of the work during the educational support given by the YJP Service could help explain these results.

CONCLUSION: These findings need to be explored further by additional studies, which could also aim to measure the impact on physical and mental health of the educational support given by Youth Judicial Protection Service.

Language: fr