Cognitive and Academic Functioning of Juvenile Detainees: Implications for Correctional Populations and Public Health

Amy E. Lansing, Jason J. Washburn, Karen M. Abram, Ursula C. Thomas, Leah J. Welty, Linda A. Teplin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cognitive functioning affects health. This study assessed cognitive functioning among participants in the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a stratified random sample of 1,829 newly detained juveniles (10 to 18 years old) from Cook County, Illinois. The study examined receptive vocabulary, oral reading, arithmetic computation skills, and general intellectual abilities. The sample exhibited impaired overall intellectual functioning and deficits in all areas. Males performed more poorly than females. More than three quarters of males showed below average overall intellectual functioning, and 9 in 10 had below average receptive vocabulary skills. Hispanic and African American males performed more poorly than non-Hispanic White males. The multiple systems that serve delinquent youth-correctional, health, legal, and rehabilitative-must collaborate to tailor needed services to the cognitive level of youth in the juvenile justice system.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18-30
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Correctional Health Care
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2014

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse grants R01DA019380, R01DA022953, and R01DA028763; National Institute of Mental Health grants R01MH54197 and R01MH59463 (Division of Services and Intervention Research and Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS); and grants 1999-JE-FX-1001, 2005-JL-FX-0288, and 2008-JF-FX-0068 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Major funding was also provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Center for Mental Health Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment), the NIH Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the CDC (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention), the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, the NIH Office of Rare Diseases, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, The William T. Grant Foundation, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Additional funds were provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Open Society Institute, and The Chicago Community Trust.

Keywords

  • academic skills
  • correctional health
  • detained youth
  • intellectual functioning
  • juvenile detention
  • verbal abilities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Community and Home Care

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cognitive and Academic Functioning of Juvenile Detainees: Implications for Correctional Populations and Public Health'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this