Introduction
The youth justice system in the United States faces a significant problem in dealing with the mental health issues of the youth in detention (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). This category of criminalistics continued to dominate the public attention since there has been a large number of young offenders who face a very high probability of having mental illness, such as conduct disorder, ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety, and sometimes they are substance abusers. Institutionalization as an experience itself could be traumatic and disruptive, which causes the current condition to be aggravated or another one to develops. Within the juvenile population of California, the state must provide adequate mental health screenings, assessments, and treatment to the people serving within this group (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Suppose these needs are not dealt with adequately. In that case, the consequences can be very severe: the risk of recidivism can increase, individuals can suffer lasting psychological harm, and restore themselves successfully in society. Mental health support and trauma-informed practice must be at the forefront since a huge percentage of homeless youths are vulnerable to engaging in visual arts.
Overview
The proportion of youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health disorders is substantially higher than the rate of peers in the general public (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Research results found that up to 70% of locked-up youths would meet the necessary criteria for at least one mental health disorder, and just about 20% of the whole population of youths were demographically adversely affected (Bryan, 2023). The most standard behavioural health problems found in this group are disruptive disorders showing conduct disorder and antisocial behaviour which are characterized by an aggressive, defiant, and antisocial sequence of behaviours. ADHD, which is another problem that is very known, can affect up to 45% of such youth in institutions for juveniles. Another serious problem for the mental health of students is that of depression and bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders which are usually found in those who have them as compared to their peers
Substance abuse disorders are another big issue, with some research showing that more than half of incarcerated youths have problems with substance abuse or dependence. These disorders generally occur together with mental health problems of others, while the burden of these young people increases. The experience of institutionalization itself can have a profound impact on the mental health of these already vulnerable individuals. The process of incarceration involves separation from family and community support systems, loss of autonomy, and exposure to potential violence or abuse within the facility (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). The environment in many juvenile facilities, characterized by overcrowding, lack of privacy, and limited access to mental health services, can further exacerbate existing conditions or contribute to the development of new ones.
Numerous studies have documented the adverse psychological effects of incarceration on youth, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation (Bryan, 2023). The disruption of everyday social and developmental processes during this critical period can also have long-lasting consequences, hindering the acquisition of crucial social skills, emotional regulation, and identity formation. Addressing the high prevalence of mental health issues among incarcerated youth and mitigating the potential negative impacts of institutionalization is crucial for promoting rehabilitation, reducing recidivism, and supporting successful reintegration into society.
Discussion
The impact of institutionalization on the mental health of the youth in the juvenile justice system is multidimensional and can be experienced long after the incarceration period is over. Here, we will explore several critical aspects of this issue:
- Trauma and Victimization: Besides, all the hostile experiences of imprisonment can be so traumatic. By the way, the youth who have already been through serious abuses may find even more complications to bear. A significant part of the incarcerated youth population experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, exposure to neighbourhood violence, or other hardships characterized by stress or torture (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Being in an institutional setup, the youth often experience victimization, or the traumas they are undergoing can become worse with more intense symptoms such as reliving the unfortunate events through intruding thoughts, nightmares, focusing on external danger, feeling overwhelmed by their emotions, and avoidance of certain places or things (Williams-Butler et al., 2023).
Youth in prison may be under further torture and victimization during this period. Harassment or other immoral acts of people in staff or other residents, being used of force or restraints of other individuals more than necessary, and insulting and denying a person’s humanity are all the forms of intra-sensory exposure to trauma. It is often impossible to break this cycle of trauma, either because of its gravity and dimension or because sometimes these damages are irreversible.
This can lead to multiple severe mental health disorders, such as high risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, self-harm and even suicidal ideation (Bryan, 2023). Witnessing trauma during the period of critical brain development is also a contributor to the disruption of the process of normal brain development and emotional regulation, resulting in the long-term challenges for forming healthy attachments, managing impulses, and dealing with complicated relationship situations.
- Social Isolation and Disruption of Development: The institutionalisation process often disrupts an adolescent’s everyday social and developmental processes, which flawlessly become a basis for adolescent growth and well-being (Humphreys et al., 2022). When the youth are in the juvenile facilities, they are often cut off from their families, their friends and the community that they know, which may make them feel lonely, deserted and alienated. Social isolation is now a characteristic of their individual development. It might negate the proceedings of the development of social skills, emotional security and identity formation — all of which are critical to positive mental health outcomes.
When people are in adolescence, they tend to discover themselves, make close friends, and learn how to navigate the complex social world. Nevertheless, the draining and sometimes depersonalizing impacts of juvenile centres may inhibit these normative stages as youngsters could fail to catch up with their emotional and social development. These disruptions can have long-term results that are highly challenging with their consequences, including difficulties in building up healthy attachments, poor impulse control, and more complex navigation of social settings upon re-entering the community (Humphreys et al., 2022). The fact that there are not sufficient role models and a fostering atmosphere within prison settings can make things worse by giving inmates a feeling of helplessness low self-confidence, and, in turn, preventing them from seeing a bright future.
- 3. Lack of Adequate Mental Health Services: With the tremendous amount of mental health problems that are common among youth found in the juvenile detention system in California and many other states, many of these facilities are seen to be missing the necessary mental health screening, assessment, and treatment programs (Williams-Butler et al., 2023). Financial poverty, staff shortages, unprofessional training for correctional staff, and disconnection between the juvenile justice and the mental health system also present a challenge to solve the issue since youth might not receive appropriate diagnosis, care, or treatment.
For instance the mental health problems may be missed or remain untreated at all. As a consequence, symptoms worsen, and the crisis develops. Addressing this lack of proper care and resources can build a healthier and more supportive environment, ultimately contributing to a student’s overall wellness and ability to thrive in academic settings (Humphreys et al., 2022). Having access to services is not always enough due to the quality and relevance of help, which might be in dispute as teenagers may need highly specialized interventions that are usually delivered in a trauma-responsive manner.
The quality of care after release, which rarely follows jail conditions, can also reduce the effectiveness of treatment during incarceration. Inadequate transition planning and weak connections between the jail and community-based mental health services often produce a discontinuity in treatment, medication management, and social support, promoting risk of decompensation, falling back, and poor prognosis in youth.
- 4. Solitary Confinement and Restrictive Housing: The application of solitary confinement and many other types of restrictive houses in the juvenile facilities is the issue which is particularly worrying because it can bring about a possible severe mental health problem. As a disciplinary measure, or to protect juveniles or staff, solitary confinement may result in psychological harm, especially among the still-underdeveloped adolescents.
Long-term connivance of solitude can cause offshoots of the adverse psychological effects, such as anxiety, depression, anger, disturbs the cognitive functions, and also upsurge tendency to self-harming or a suicidal attempt (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Moreover, the absence of social communication and sensory stimulation can intensify already existing mental health problems or can further lead to the development of other psychiatric disorders including psychosis, emotional uneasiness, or trauma-related symptoms.
It should be noticed, that the application of solitary confinement can be even more detrimental for mental health of youth who suffer from the mental illness or those with the history of trauma, as it can promote the disease symptoms, and obstruct any sort of therapy. Despite these risks, the continued practice in many juvenile facilities indicates the requirement for the reform and the alternative disciplinary measures which have juvenile’s well-being as a priority.
- Criminogenic Effects and Recidivism: The psychological implications of institutionalization combined with insufficient mental health services and supports can build themselves up through criminogenic attitudes and behaviors which can contribute to the rise of recidivism among youth. The encounter with incredible trauma, the lack of social interaction, and the disrupted development process might make a person irritable, hopeless and disoriented so that they will just obtain antisocial attitude and conducts (Crane & Pascoe, 2021).
In addition to the inadequate mental health care and support during the prison time, the unaddressed issues may become a problem and it will be difficult for every youth to be reintegrated into communities after leaving a prison. The history of untreated mental health conditions, as well as the prejudice and challenges, that may accompany reentry, in some cases, can be a factor influencing one to adopt criminal acts as a mean of coping or surviving (Williams-Butler et al., 2023).
The mental health conditions of youth in detention are not given enough attention; however, it is as important for their wellbeing as it is for a successful rehabilitation and a reduction in the rate of committing another crime. Such measures as operating evidence-based treatment courses, trauma-informed care, and providing supervision to criminals during the reintroduction into society, could become an effective discontinuation of prison cycle for these people and the improvement of lives long after they have been released from the correctional facilities.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities: To recognize the prejudice and bias that youth of color experience, especially African-American and Latino youth in the juvenile justice system, should be acknowledged. The inequities in mental health services, culturally appropriate care and accessing mental health services only aggravate the already existing deficits among different races and ethnicities (Crane & Pascoe, 2021). Immigrant and youth of color also experience extra challenges in the course of pursuing adequate mental health services. Such challenges are reinforcement of young people’s prejudices against mental health problems within their communities, absence of culturally competent service providers and biased systems of juvenile justice and mental health. These inequalities become catalysts for issues including, misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and disengagement with services. These combined ultimately worsen the circumstances.
Fulfilling this objective requires a multilevel approach that involves community participation, cultural humility training for providers, and reforms of the system to achieve equity and access to mental health services that are culturally responsive for the youth of color in the juvenile justice system. With recognizing and dealing the encompassing influences of confinement on the mental health of detained youth, the juvenile justice system in California, and in other regions, can more effectively achieve its mission of helping these vulnerable people, reducing recidivism, and promoting favorable outcomes for their populations.
- Family separation and bond disruptions: when in prison may lead to severe and long-lasting mental health problems and development issues in a young person. With this sudden loss of those major source of support and relationships, it may be emotionally/psychologically traumatizing, and you might feel an experience of dismissal, anxiety, depression, and a kind of instability (Bryan, 2023). This separation on the other hand stands as a roadblock towards the formation of emotional and relational competencies, which constitute the building blocks of emotional functioning, socializing, and overall wellbeing.
Young people who have been exposed to disrupted bonds attributed to family separations, parental incarceration or other traumatic childhood experiences may be challenged to form healthy connections inside the facility with staff or peers (Williams-Butler et al., 2023). This may be seen as a more powerful weapon, which offers protection from possible ostracism, disorganizing and disuniting feelings and therefore better avert the chance of vexing elements or exploitation. The adults last group often face the most severe consequences particularly for early adolescents who heavily rely on careers to provide emotional solace
Varied social experiences prevent them to develop a stable family connection, which in turn increases the risks of experiencing developmental disabilities, emotional issues, and malign coping mechanisms. In order to make happen family support, visiting, and interacting during the inmates, it is important. All the while keeping in touch (with family and friends) can prevent psychological trauma and assist to improve individual’s welfare after release back in the society. The first thing that stresses discussion has to be the destabilizing of core connections as regards a trauma-sensitive approach in justice system.
Summary and Recommendations
The issues of mental health and how institutionalization can be injurious to youth in the juvenile justice system are diverse and complicated (Crane & Pascoe, 2021). Many times, youths in prison are very young and they require many of the attention and care that is given when one is sick. It is therefore of essence that the well-being, rehabilitation, and reintegration of these youth is the main priority. Overlooking these problems can be very harmful in the end, which can result in high re-offend rates, long-term psychological harm, and difficulties with functioning lawfully in their community.
Stemming this problem is convoluted so a strategy that is purview of the private and public sectors as well as systems ought to be used. Here are some key recommendations:
- 1. Conduct Mandatory Comprehensive Mental Health Screening and Assessment: All youths who have been committed to the juvenile justice system should undergo a thorough mental health screening and assessment that will pinpoint existing conditions, trauma histories and potential risks (Fusar‐Poli et al., 2021). This exercise needs to run across the course of their interaction with the system to diminish the possibility of delayed identification and treatment of issues that could pop up. Challenged, these evidence-based screening methods often used among teens should be employed and diagnosis should be done by mental health professionals appropriate.
- Supply of Evidence-Based Mental Health Services in Juvenile Centers: Juvenile facilities should have the necessary resources as well as staff with the required competence to offer evidence-based treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, trauma-focused interventions, and proper medication management (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Specialized services should be tailored to the individual needs of the adolescents in a way they receive them in a trauma-informed and culturally-sensitive approach. Treatment should cover not only mental health conditions, but survivors’ trauma and Chief Evaca’s reliance.
- Implement Trauma-Informed. Adopting Trauma-Informed Practices: Juvenile facilities and the entire juvenile justice system should implement trauma-oriented practices that ensure safety, strengthen trust, and foster empowerment for the youth. The training of the staff about trauma and its effects shall include rehabilitating them in mentally secure place and taking necessary trauma-related measures for those youths who lack supportive environment in their life (Fusar‐Poli et al., 2021). Employing trauma-sensitive perspective means identifying the amount of trauma these youths face and ensuring that no additional harm would be caused while treatment is being given and trauma is getting eliminated.
- 4. Extremely Restrict Solitary Confinement and Restrictive Housing: The adjudication of solitary confinement and restrictive housing for the juveniles should be a wholly different matter and it should be done on a very strict and supervision-based framework with focus on alternative disciplinary measures and therapeutic practices. In the process of usage there should be an establishment of the clear rules, supervision, and mental health support to diminish the possibility of any negative impacts. The psychological harm from multiple days of isolation, especially for teens who have psychological diseases or a trauma history, is well known, and it needs to be considered and by all means prevented.
- Improve Transitional and Reentry Support: Due to their mental illness juveniles identified as part of the youth justice system need comprehensive discharge and reentry plan from the system. These activities are; the coordination with community-based mental health service providers so as to promote continuity of care, providing support services for housing, education, employment, and family reunification, and elimination of the possible hindrances for adoption of recovery process. Without adequate support during the crucial period after incarceration, all the progress achieved during the incarceration may be jeopardized, which will raise the risk of decompensation and recurrence.
- 6. Establish Collaboration and Be Accountable: The task of handling the mental health issues in the juvenile justice system entails ongoing collaboration between different stakeholders, that include juvenile facilities, mental healthcare providers, education institutions, community agencies, policymakers as well as youth and family advocates. Data collection, monitoring, and accountability measures for continuous improvement, the absolute application of adopted best practices, as well as differentiation and resolution of loopholes and inequality should be put in place at all stages.
- 7. Acknowledge and Address Racial and Ethnic Imbalances: In the juvenile justice system, the youth of color are dramatically over represented and they face the disproportionately even while getting the psychosocial services that are culturally responsive (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). Stake in the community services, trained and diverse mental health manpower, and the systemic changes for equality, sensitivity, and caring culture in both the juvenile justice system and the mental health system are the part of efforts in the reform.
The juvenile justice system in California can achieve its goal of rehabilitating and supporting youth if mental health services are prioritized, trauma-informed practices are adopted, and any negative consequences of institutionalization are avoided (Crane & Pascoe, 2021). Ultimately, this will improve public safety and promote positive outcomes for these youths as well as their community. A deliberate, coordinated, and equity-oriented method of intervention is vital in ensuring that the needs of these children are attended to and they are offered the resources and support needed for successful reintegration and well-being.
References
Bryan, B. (2023). Housing instability following felony conviction and incarceration: Disentangling being marked from being locked up. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 39(4),833-874.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10940-022-09550-z
Crane, J. T., & Pascoe, K. (2021). Becoming institutionalized: Incarceration as a chronic health condition. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 35(3), 307-
326.https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/maq.12621
Fusar‐Poli, P., Correll, C. U., Arango, C., Berk, M., Patel, V., & Ioannidis, J. P. (2021). Preventive psychiatry: a blueprint for improving the mental health of young people. World Psychiatry, 20(2), 200-221.
Humphreys, K. L., King, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., & Zeanah, C. H. (2022). Caregiver regulation: A modifiable target promoting resilience to early adverse experiences. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 14(S1), S63.
Snehil, G., & Sagar, R. (2020). Juvenile justice system, juvenile mental health, and the role of MHPs: Challenges and opportunities. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 42(3), 304-310.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_82_20
Williams-Butler, A., Liu, F. Y., Howell, T., Menon, S. E., & Quinn, C. R. (2023). Racialized gender differences in mental health service use, adverse childhood experiences, and recidivism among justice-involved African American youth. Race and Social Problems, 15(2), 101-114.
write