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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study by Daniel et al. was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among violent juvenile offenders within a maximum security psychiatric unit. It also investigated connections between these psychiatric disorders, criminal behavior and demographic data.
METHODOLOGY:
The 151 subjects in this study were all male juvenile offenders, aged 14 to 19 years, who were committed to a Missouri maximum security state hospital between 1977 and 1980. They all were prosecuted and sentenced as adults because of the extreme violent nature of their crimes. Using FBI and police files, the subjects were placed into two categories of person offenders and property offenders. The person offenses, which included crimes such as rape, murder and armed robbery, appeared more violent than the property offenses. The subjects' psychiatric and criminal history, as well as their parents', were detailed as much as possible. Each subject underwent a structured psychiatric diagnoses using the DSM-III. Each subject also had a physical examination including a neurology consultation and an EEG. Their IQs and reading levels were evaluated using the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT). Percentages and probability statistics were used to analyze and compare these violent adolescent offenders.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Demographically, this study revealed that 69.5% of the subjects were white and 30.5% were black. Also, 64.9% of the subjects were person offenders and 35.1% were property offenders. When analyzing the relationship between race and crime type, it was found that blacks had committed significantly more person offenses than whites (p<.002). Also, person offenders were younger than property offenders. According to IQ and reading scores, 28% of the subjects read below a fourth grade level, 31% read between a fifth and seventh grade level, and 40.25% read above an eighth grade level. The difference between whites' and blacks' reading scores was significant with whites, on the whole, scoring higher than blacks (p<.0004). Differences in IQ scores between the races was not significant. When analyzing the criminal histories of the subjects, it was found that 84.3% had previously committed crimes of violence, both property (35%) and person offenses (65.1%). The difference between repeated person and property offenses was statistically significant, meaning that person offenders were more likely to repeat violent crimes against people (p<.001). 49.3% of the adolescent subjects had a history of psychiatric hospitalization and had diagnoses ranging from personality disorders to drug dependence to psychosis to suicide attempts. 19% of the subjects had one biological parent who had been psychiatrically hospitalized; and 20.9% of the subjects had a biological parent with a criminal history. Nineteen of the 151 subjects were diagnosed with a physical disorder such as dermatological conditions, chronic ill health, venereal disease, physical handicap. Violent adolescent offenders were found to have multiple psychiatric disorders. The primary psychiatric conditions of the subjects were antisocial personality disorder (70%), schizophrenia (16%), adjustment disorders (5%), various personality disorders (4%), anxiety disorders (1%), and obsessive compulsive disorders (1%). 93.4% received a secondary diagnosis of substance abuse disorders. 10.5% also received a diagnosis of depressive disorders. Drug abuse of the subjects involved alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, LSD and barbiturates. Most of the subjects abused a combination of many drugs. Drug use within this sample was found to be much higher than that of the general adolescent population. Person offenders had a significantly greater preference for alcohol (p<.02), marijuana (p<.005), amphetamines (p<.05), and cocaine (p<.05) than property offenders. The majority of the subjects who abused alcohol started drinking before age 13 (60 of 90).
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors concluded that violent adolescent did not comprise a homogenous group. They suggested that special efforts be made to identify such factors as depression and multiple drug abuse early on in the criminal justice process. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
N1 - Call Number: F-392, AB-392
KW - 1970s
KW - 1980s
KW - Missouri
KW - Incarcerated
KW - Juvenile Inmate
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Male Inmate
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Juvenile In Adult Correctional Institution
KW - Mental Illness
KW - Mentally Ill Juvenile
KW - Mentally Ill Offender
KW - Offender Characteristics
KW - Offender Personality
KW - Personality Characteristics
KW - Personality Disorder
KW - Antisocial Personality
KW - Drug Use Effects
KW - Drug Related Violence
KW - Drug Use Effects
KW - Drug Related Violence
KW - Substance Use Effects
KW - Substance Use-Violence Co-Occurence
KW - Offender Substance Use
KW - Male Substance Use
KW - Juvenile Substance Use
KW - Inmate Studies
KW - Violence Causes
Language: en |