Mental health disorders, adverse childhood experiences and accelerated reoffending among justice-involved youth in Australia: A longitudinal recurrent event analysis

IF 1.4 4区医学 Q1 LAW

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Pub Date : 2025-04-25 DOI:10.1016/j.ijlp.2025.102099

Emaediong I. Akpanekpo , Tony Butler , Preeyaporn Srasuebkul , Julian N. Trollor , John Kasinathan , David Greenberg , Peter W. Schofield , Dianna T. Kenny , Claire Gaskin , Melanie Simpson , Jocelyn Jones , Anyiekere M. Ekanem , Azar Kariminia

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Mental health disorders and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known risk factors for youth offending. However, most studies operationalize these factors as static and fail to distinguish between isolated reoffences and escalating patterns of criminal behaviour. The impact of mental health service engagement on interrupting cyclical, repetitive offending also remains unclear.

Methods

We linked offending records (1994–2022) and mental health records (2001−2022) for 1556 justice-involved youth in New South Wales, Australia. The Prentice, Williams, and Peterson Gap Time model with time-varying effects was used to identify factors associated with accelerated reoffending during a five-year follow-up.

Results

The median age at first conviction was 15 years for custody-supervised youth and 16 years for community-supervised youth. Among custody-supervised youth aged 14 to 17, the prevalence of ACEs, mental health disorders, and their co-occurrence were 69.6 %, 33.9 %, and 26.5 %, respectively, compared to 42.5 %, 30.8 %, and 14.8 % for community-supervised youth. Recurrent offences occurred in 64.8 % of custody-supervised youth and 52.1 % of community-supervised youth. Age, physical neglect, substance use disorders, and personality disorders demonstrated time-varying effects on reoffending risk. Additional risk factors included physical abuse, parental death, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and previous incarceration. Mental health service contact was associated with reduced reoffending risk.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the dynamic nature of criminogenic risk factors and the protective effect of mental health service engagement. Youth justice policymakers should prioritize regular mental health assessments and improved access to interventions for justice-involved youth to reduce recurrent offending and enhance public safety.

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精神健康障碍、不良童年经历和加速再犯罪在澳大利亚司法参与青年：纵向复发事件分析

心理健康障碍和不良童年经历（ace）是青少年犯罪的已知危险因素。然而，大多数研究将这些因素视为静态的，未能区分孤立的再犯罪和犯罪行为升级模式。参与心理健康服务对中断周期性、重复性犯罪的影响也尚不清楚。方法：我们将澳大利亚新南威尔士州1556名参与司法的青少年的犯罪记录（1994-2022年）和心理健康记录（2001 - 2022年）联系起来。采用具有时变效应的普伦蒂斯、威廉姆斯和彼得森间隔时间模型，在5年随访期间确定与加速再犯有关的因素。结果初犯年龄中位数在监管青少年中为15岁，在社区监管青少年中为16岁。在14至17岁的监护青少年中，ace、精神健康障碍及其共患率分别为69.6%、33.9%和26.5%，而社区监护青少年的这一比例分别为42.5%、30.8%和14.8%。受羁留青少年中有64.8%及社区监督青少年中有52.1%犯过重复罪行。年龄、身体忽视、物质使用障碍和人格障碍对再犯风险表现出时变效应。其他风险因素包括身体虐待、父母死亡、焦虑症、情绪障碍和以前的监禁。心理健康服务接触与再犯风险降低有关。结论本研究揭示了犯罪风险因素的动态性质和心理健康服务参与的保护作用。青年司法政策制定者应优先考虑定期进行心理健康评估，并改善参与司法的青年获得干预的机会，以减少复发性犯罪并加强公共安全。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Multiple-

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

8.70%

发文量

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry is intended to provide a multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas and information among professionals concerned with the interface of law and psychiatry. There is a growing awareness of the need for exploring the fundamental goals of both the legal and psychiatric systems and the social implications of their interaction. The journal seeks to enhance understanding and cooperation in the field through the varied approaches represented, not only by law and psychiatry, but also by the social sciences and related disciplines.