The involvement of people with serious mental illness (SMI) with the justice system may be a direct result of their disruptive/unsafe expression of psychiatric symptoms being responded to by law enforcement. SMI may also contribute to justice involvement, through exposure to environmental and social learning processes that place people with SMI at risk for criminal behavior. This study addresses the question: For whom does SMI directly or indirectly relate to criminal behavior? Mediation and conditional effects testing were used to examine the potential of early onset of criminal behavior to distinguish those groups for whom SMI displays a direct effect or an indirect effect on criminal recidivism. This study utilized a disproportionate random sample of 379 inmates released from New Jersey Department of Corrections; 190 of whom had SMI and 189 of whom did not have SMI. Data were collected from clinical and administrative records. Results indicate that criminal risk mediated the relationship between SMI and recidivism. This indirect effect was conditioned by whether the individual had a juvenile conviction. Specifically, for early start offenders, criminal risk was positively related to recidivism while this relationship was not observed for late start offenders. Juvenile criminal onset did not condition the direct effects of SMI on recidivism. A juvenile history of criminal involvement may signal the presence of heightened criminogenic need among adults with SMI. This simple indicator could function to differentiate for clinicians those adults who are good candidates for exploring further, and targeting for amelioration, criminogenic needs to reduce further criminal involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience high rates of victimization leading to health disparities. Community size and community climate are associated with health outcomes among SGM youth; however, we lack studies that include them as covariates alongside victimization to understand their collective impact on health. This study utilized minority stress theory to understand how community context shapes experiences of victimization and health among SGM youth. SGM youth in one Midwestern U.S. state completed an online survey (n = 201) with measures of physical health, mental health, community context, and victimization. Data were analyzed via multiple regression using a path analysis framework. Results indicate that perceived climate was associated with mental, but not physical, health; Community size was unrelated to health outcomes. Victimization mediated the association between community climate and mental health. Keywords depression; health; gender;LGBT issues; rural context Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth-14-to 18-year olds who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ)-experience higher rates of adverse mental and physical health outcomes than heterosexual and cisgender youth

Although research has indicated that mental health court (MHC) participation is associated with positive criminal justice outcomes, it remains unclear whether and how MHC participation may improve participants’ quality of life (QOL). Utilizing MacArthur MHC study data (357 MHC and 348 traditional court participants), we explored the relationships among MHC participation, perceived voluntariness of treatment (VOL), mental health services utilization, and QOL. Our path analysis found that MHC participation was negatively related to VOL. In addition, VOL was positively related to service utilization, but service utilization was unrelated to QOL. Perceived voluntariness mediated the relationship between MHC participation and QOL. Because VOL was associated with QOL for both MHC participants and traditional court participants, implications include the need for a reevaluation of community supervision processes to increase VOL, with the aim of increasing QOL among those with mental illness living under community supervision. Because participation in MHC was associated with low VOL, MHC participants could benefit substantially from such efforts.