Research Snapshot Mental Health and Poverty in Justice Involved Youth

Research Snapshot Mental Health and Poverty in Justice Involved Youth What you need to know This study examined how living in poverty relates to youth mental health problems and youth criminal activity. [...] Mental health problems were recorded according Research shows that between 50% and 100% to both the number of psychological symptoms/ of court-involved young people have a mental diagnoses, as well as, by the type of mental health health disorder. [...] Research Snapshot | Mental Health and Poverty in Justice Involved Youth What did we find? More severe poverty is associated with persistent Offending is sometimes directly linked to mental mental health challenges: health: • Young offenders who lived in moderate to • One in five of the offences committed were high levels of poverty were more likely to have viewed as being directly related to the y. [...] Persistent mental health concerns increase the Mental health problems are pervasive for court- chance of persistent offending behaviour: involved youth: • Mental health problems before age 12 tended to • Overall, more than 75% of these court involved increase the likelihood of youth being involved youth had at least one mental health diagnosis, in criminal behaviour prior to age twelve and with ov. [...] How can we use this research? While having a mental health problem or living (e.g., addressing barriers to accessing services, in poverty does not in itself cause crime, these safe housing) as well as their mental health service findings suggest that experiencing both higher needs, in an effort to reduce their future offending levels of poverty and persistent mental health and improve their lives.