Psychiatric Disorders and Recidivism among Korean Adolescents on Probation or Parole

Abstract

Objective The percentage of repeat offenders is increasing among juvenile offenders in Korea. The assessment and treatment of the mental health of young offenders may play an important role in reducing the recidivism rate of adolescents. This study examined the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among adolescents on probation or parole and the risk of recidivism associated with specific psychiatric disorders. Methods We studied 120 adolescents on probation. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Conners’ Rating Scale-Revised were used to diagnose psychiatric disorders. Results Almost half of the juvenile offenders had psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder (19.17%), bipolar disorder (18.33%), antisocial personality disorder (11.67%), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (10.83%). Alcohol use disorder was significantly associated with repeated offenses, but psychiatric disorders, excluding alcohol use disorder, were not significantly associated with repeated offenses. Conclusion These results suggested that the development of education and treatment programs for psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder, among juvenile offenders on probation or parole may help to prevent repeated criminal behaviour.

Conducta criminal y trastornos mentales: revisión sistemática de instrumentos de autorreporte para adolescentes en conflicto con la ley

“…Así, el Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) fue utilizado en 3 artículos (Maurer et al, 2020;Thijssen y Kiehl, 2017y Kahn et al, 2016 y el Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) en 2 (Winstanley et al, 2019y Ewing et al, 2015. En el caso de la valoración de síntomas del TDAH, en dos artículos (Lim, Park y Kim, 2018y Margari et al, 2015 que se propusieron evaluarlo usaron escalas de autorreporte de Conners.…”

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐Adolescent‐Restructured Form (MMPI‐A‐RF) characteristics of ADHD in a Korean psychiatric sample

“…Increased patterns of prescription stimulant use by Korean adolescents (compared with children) reflect the widespread difficulties with functioning associated with ADHD during adolescent years (Song & Shin, 2016). Studies of Korean outpatient and juvenile samples found ADHD to be highly comorbid with an oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, substance use, depression, anxiety disorders, and specific phobias (Chung et al, 2020; Kim et al, 2017; Lim et al, 2018; S. Park et al, 2011).…”