Examining Justice System Exposure Among Youth on Health in Young Adulthood: Does Dosage of Contact Matter?

Abstract

Drawing on juvenile justice and social determinants of health literature, this study examines the influence of three levels of justice system contact among juveniles – police stop, arrest, adjudication – on depression, suicide ideation, and general health in young adulthood. Mahalanobis distance matching utilizing National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data test whether dosage of system contact negatively impacts health in young adulthood. Additional analyses compare within system contact differences to identify magnitude of health consequences for systems-involved individuals. Arrest and adjudication experiences as a juvenile negatively impacted at least one health outcome in young adulthood relative to those with no contact. Depression was significantly higher among those with an adjudication experience relative to those with an arrest experience. Results support further exploring juvenile justice system experiences as a social determinant of health.