Functional Impairment in Youth Three Years after Detention

Karen M. Abram*, Jeanne Y. Choe, Jason J. Washburn, Erin G. Romero, Linda A. Teplin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: This article examines functional impairment across global and specific dimensions among youth 3 years after their detention. Methods: Functional impairment was assessed using the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) in a large, stratified, random sample of formerly detained youth (N = 1653). Results: More than one-fifth of the individuals in the sample were scored as having marked impairment that required, at minimum, "multiple sources of care" (CAFAS Total Score of ≥100); 7.0% required "intensive intervention" (CAFAS Total Score ≥140). Most of the sample had impairment; only 7.5% had "no noteworthy impairment" (CAFAS Total Score ≤10). Significantly more males were impaired than females. Among males living in the community at follow-up, African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to be impaired than non-Hispanic whites. In comparison to males living in the community, males who were incarcerated at follow-up were significantly more likely to have impaired thinking and impaired functioning at home (if incarcerated, "home" is the correctional facility) but less likely to have substance use problems. Conclusions: Three years after detention, most youth struggle in one or more life domains; more than one in five have marked impairment in functioning. These findings underscore the ongoing costs, to both youth and society, of our failure to provide effective rehabilitation to youth after detention.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)528-535
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Adolescent Health
Volume44
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2009

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grants R01MH54197 and R01MH59463 (Division of Services and Intervention Research and Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS), cofunded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, NIH Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the NIH Office of Rare Diseases; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention grants 1999-JE-FX-1001, 2005-JL-FX-0288 and 2008-JF-FX-0068, and National Institute of Drug Abuse Grants RO1DA019380 (cofunded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and RO1DA022953. Other major funding was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention); the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Center for Mental Health Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment), W.T. Grant Foundation, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Additional funds were provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Open Society Institute, and The Chicago Community Trust. We thank our funding agencies for their support and collaborative spirit; our participants for their time and willingness to participate; our intrepid and talented field staff; and the Cook County and State of Illionis systems for their cooperation.

Keywords

  • Delinquent
  • Functional impairment
  • Incarceration
  • Juvenile detainee
  • Longitudinal

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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