TY - JOUR
T1 - Mortality of Youth Offenders Along a Continuum of Justice System Involvement
AU - Aalsma, Matthew C.
AU - Lau, Katherine S L
AU - Perkins, Anthony J.
AU - Schwartz, Katherine
AU - Tu, Wanzhu
AU - Wiehe, Sarah E.
AU - Monahan, Patrick
AU - Rosenman, Marc B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by grants provided through the U.S. DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Research Program (R40MC08721) as well as the Agency for Healthcare and Quality (R01HS022681). The authors wish to thank the Marion County Superior Court, and specifically Judge Marilyn Moores, as well as the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, for their support in completing this project. We would also like to thank P. Joseph Gibson, MPH, PhD and Stephen Clarke, PhD for their assistance in gathering mortality data from Marion County. Lastly, we would like to thank Andrew Alexander, Aaron Burgess, and Shawn Hoch for their help in the linking process.
Funding Information:
grants provided through the U.S. DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Research Program (R40MC08721) as well as the Agency for Healthcare and Quality (R01HS022681). The authors wish to thank the Marion County Superior Court, and specifically Judge Marilyn Moores, as well as the Marion County Sheriff''s Office, for their support in completing this project. We would also like to thank P. Joseph Gibson, MPH, PhD and Stephen Clarke, PhD for their assistance in gathering mortality data from Marion County. Lastly, we would like to thank Andrew Alexander, Aaron Burgess, and Shawn Hoch for their help in the linking process. This study was conducted in collaboration with local criminal justice and health agencies. The authors received no compensation in the conduct or writing of this manuscript. Findings and conclusions of this paper are those of the authors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - Introduction Black male youth are at high risk of homicide and criminal justice involvement. This study aimed to determine how early mortality among youth offenders varies based on race; gender; and the continuum of justice system involvement: arrest, detention, incarceration, and transfer to adult courts. Methods Criminal and death records of 49,479 youth offenders (ages 10-18 years at first arrest) in Marion County, Indiana, from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2011, were examined. Statistical analyses were completed in November 2014. Results From 1999 to 2011 (aggregate exposure, 386,709 person-years), 518 youth offender deaths occurred. The most common cause of death was homicide (48.2%). The mortality rate of youth offenders was nearly 1.5 times greater than that among community youth (standardized mortality ratio, 1.48). The youth offender mortality rate varied depending on the severity of justice system involvement. Arrested youth had the lowest rate of mortality (90/100,000), followed by detained youth (165/100,000); incarcerated youth (216/100,000); and youth transferred to adult court (313/100,000). A proportional hazards model demonstrated that older age, male gender, and more severe justice system involvement 5 years post-arrest predicted shorter time to mortality. Conclusions Youth offenders face greater risk for early death than community youth. Among these, black male youth face higher risk of early mortality than their white male counterparts. However, regardless of race/ethnicity, mortality rates for youth offenders increase as youth involvement in the justice system becomes more protracted and severe. Thus, justice system involvement is a significant factor to target for intervention.
AB - Introduction Black male youth are at high risk of homicide and criminal justice involvement. This study aimed to determine how early mortality among youth offenders varies based on race; gender; and the continuum of justice system involvement: arrest, detention, incarceration, and transfer to adult courts. Methods Criminal and death records of 49,479 youth offenders (ages 10-18 years at first arrest) in Marion County, Indiana, from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2011, were examined. Statistical analyses were completed in November 2014. Results From 1999 to 2011 (aggregate exposure, 386,709 person-years), 518 youth offender deaths occurred. The most common cause of death was homicide (48.2%). The mortality rate of youth offenders was nearly 1.5 times greater than that among community youth (standardized mortality ratio, 1.48). The youth offender mortality rate varied depending on the severity of justice system involvement. Arrested youth had the lowest rate of mortality (90/100,000), followed by detained youth (165/100,000); incarcerated youth (216/100,000); and youth transferred to adult court (313/100,000). A proportional hazards model demonstrated that older age, male gender, and more severe justice system involvement 5 years post-arrest predicted shorter time to mortality. Conclusions Youth offenders face greater risk for early death than community youth. Among these, black male youth face higher risk of early mortality than their white male counterparts. However, regardless of race/ethnicity, mortality rates for youth offenders increase as youth involvement in the justice system becomes more protracted and severe. Thus, justice system involvement is a significant factor to target for intervention.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84958152840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84958152840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.030
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 26585053
AN - SCOPUS:84958152840
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 50
SP - 303
EP - 310
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
IS - 3
ER -
