NCJ Number
191588
Date Published
2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This document reports on the mental health needs and the trends in psychotropic medications among adolescents who had been remanded to Virginia's Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in the past 8 years.
Abstract
On average in an 8 year period, about 1,550 youth are committed to Virginia's juvenile correctional facilities in any year, of which 89 percent are males and 11 percent are females. Youth in DJJ have many difficulties, including family problems, low school achievement, and education needs. All youth committed to the custody of the DJJ enter via the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC). At RDC, youth spend their first 4 weeks being evaluated for service needs and appropriate placement at one of the seven juvenile correctional facilities. Attention deficit disorders, depression, anxiety, and psychotic illnesses are present in the histories of many youth that are committed to Virginia's correctional facilities. In the year 2000, 36 percent of males and 30 percent of females had a documented history of psychostimulant use (e.g. Ritalin). Over 62 percent of males and 50 percent of females exhibited the array of symptoms for a diagnosis of Conduct Disorder in the year 2000, while 27 percent of males and 34 percent of females showed symptoms of Oppositional Disorder. Within the past 8 years, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of males with histories of prior medication use for psychotic symptoms. Increases in the patterns of psychotropic medications prescribed by child psychiatrists followed the same trend found among treatment for adults as a result of the safety of the new classes of drugs. The percentage of youth committed to DJJ with documented health problems serious enough to warrant hospitalization had significantly increased over the years. 25 references