Citation

Ford JD, Chapman JF, Pearson G, Borum R, Wolpaw JM. J. Psychopathol. Behav. Assess. 2008; 30(2): 87-99.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10862-007-9058-9

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study replicates and extends studies of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Version 2 (MAYSI-2) in a sample of 479 urban, rural, and suburban 12-16 year old youths (68% boys; 41% African American, 23% Latino) consecutively admitted to juvenile detention centers. Six principal components replicated the MAYSI-2 factor-analytically-derived subscales except for Depression/Anxiety, and suggested modifications of specific items in each sub-scale.

FINDINGS supported the internal consistency and validity of the modified MAYSI-2 sub-scales. Few gender differences emerged, except that girls reported higher levels of hopelessness and trauma than boys. Five sub-groups were identified based on component profiles: (1) non-clinical, (2) addiction, somatic problems, and suicidality, (3) anger problems, (4) thought disturbance, and (5) addiction and traumatic stress. The findings support the validity of the MAYSI-2 for juvenile justice mental health screening while highlighting possible refinements in scoring in order to identify delinquent youths with distinctive psychosocial risks and needs.

Language: en