Suicidal Ideation in Juvenile Arrestees

• Published date: 01 October 2016
• Author: Mike Tapia,Lynsey Tucker,Henrika McCoy
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204015579522
• Date: 01 October 2016
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Suicidal Ideation in Juvenile

Arrestees: Exploring Legal

and Temporal Factors

Mike Tapia

1

, Henrika McCoy

2

, and Lynsey Tucker

3

Abstract

Mental health screening data (Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument version 2 [MAYSI-2]) and

offense history were used to study levels of suicidal ideation in a sample of juvenile arrestees held in a

large, urban detention center located in a predominately Hispanic Southwestern U.S. city. We used

t-tests and multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationships with particular attention to

temporal issues. Results indicated that offense history, the timing of arrests, and demographics did

influence levelsof suicide ideation. We discuss these findings, strengths and limitations, and directions

for future research.

Keywords

juvenile offenders, suicidal ideation, MAYSI-2, Hispanic youth

Introduction

Adolescent suicide is a complex and multidimensional problem with a high incidence in the United

States. Suicide rates among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled between 1952 and 1996; and

by 1999, theU.S. Surgeon General, DavidSatcher, deemed suicidea major public health concern(U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).In 2001, rates of suicide had risen so high that the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that a greater number of adolescents and

young adults were dying each year from suicide than from AIDS, birth defects, cancer, chronic lung

disease, heart disease, influenza, pneumonia, and stroke combined. By 2011, suicide was the second

leading cause ofdeath among 15- to 24-year-olds withover 4,800 lives lost that year (Centers for Dis-

ease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014a). Among that age-group, there is one successful comple-

tion for every 100–200 attempts made with 20%of all deaths attributable to suicide (CDC, 2012).

Suicidal behavior varies by gender. For example, when compared to boys, girls are at a higher

risk for and have higher rates of suicidal behavior, attempts, and ideation (CDC, 2013; Lewinsohn,

1

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA

2

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

3

University of Texas San Antonio and The Center for Health Care Services, San Antonio, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Mike Tapia, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003-8001, USA.

Email: mtapia@nmsu.edu

Youth Violence and JuvenileJustice

2016, Vol. 14(4) 468-483

ªThe Author(s) 2015

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/1541204015579522

yvj.sagepub.com

Rohde, Seeley, & Baldwin, 2001; Wagner, 2009). Boys however, have a higher rate of completion

(CDC, 2014b), likely due to the use of more aggressive and lethal means during their attempts

(Wagner, 2009). Differences also exist in suicidal behavior by race and ethnicity (Goldston et al.,

2008). In 2012, for African American youth of age 12–18, suicide rates were 3.01 per 100,000, for

Hispanic youth rates were 3.62 per 100,000, and for White youth rates were 5.86 per 100,000

(National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, 2014). Despite White youth having the

highest rates of completion, Hispanic youth have the highest rates of suicidal ideation, plans, and

attempts among all youth (CDC, 2013).

Suicide and Juvenile Offenders

It has been well documented that incarcerated youth in particular are at high risk for attempting and

dying by suicide (Casiano, Katz, Globerman, & Sareen, 2013; CDC, 2014a; Gallagher & Dobrin,

2006; Mallett, DeRigne, Quinn, & Stoddard-Dare, 2012). Juvenile offenders are approximately

3 times more likely to die by suicide than youth in the general population (Gallagher & Dobrin,

2006). In fact, suicide is the leading reason juvenile offenders die when confined (Bureau of Justice

Statistics, 2005). This is highly concerning because in 2011, there were almost 62,000 juvenile

offenders in residential placement (Hockenberry, 2014). One of the most striking reasons for these

higher rates for incarcerated youth are partially due to the violent means they often use during their

suicide attempts (Rohde, Mace, & Seeley, 1997).

During the 15 years since suicide was deemed a public health risk for youth, there has been

increased awareness about its occurrence, especially related to juvenile offenders. In 2006, Gallagher

and Dobrin reported that 95%of facilities who had experienced a juvenile offender dying by suicide

had instituted mental health screening. The need for such screening became even further highlighted

in 2013, when the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention [NAASP] recommended that all

youth who were arrested or detained be screened for suicidal ideation. Thus, juvenile justice systems

in 47 states, and 44 statewide, accomplished that goal by implementing the Massachusetts Youth

Screening Instrument version 2 (MAYSI-2; Grisso et al., 2012).

Research about instruments used to screen for suicide ideation (SI) in this population, such as the

MAYSI-2,the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, the SuicidalBehaviors Questionnaire–Revised, and the

Global Appraisal of Individual Needs–Short Screener, has mostly focused on the clinical application,

validity, and generalizability of the measures across diagnoses, races/ethnicities, and gender (Archer,

Simonds-Bisbee, Spiegel, Handel, & Elkins, 2010; Cauffman & MacIntosh, 2006; Ford, Hartman,

Hawke, & Chapman,2008; McCoy, 2014; McCoy,Vaughn, Maynard, & Salas-Wright, 2014; Vincent,

Grisso,Terry, & Banks, 2008a). In addition,the focus in the literatureabout suicide and juvenile det ai-

nees has been primarily on clinical predictors such asthepresenceofpsychiatric disorders, suicidal

ideation and/or attempts, substance use, and trauma exposure (Abram et al., 2008; Archer, Stredny,

Mason, & Arnau, 2004; Cauffman, 2004; Chapman & Ford, 2008; Nolenet al., 2008; Wasserman &

McReynolds, 2006). Understudied is the relationship between suicidal ideation and the legalchar-

acteristics of juvenile detainees such as crime type and recidivism. This study aimsto help fill that

gap by paying special attention to some of the temporal issues in the relationship between offense

history and suicidal ideation using MAYSI-2 and offense data from a sample of juveniles.

The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Version 2

As previously noted, the MAYSI-2 is often used to screen for the presence of SI. It is a brief, self-

report, mental health screening tool designed to be administered to juvenile offenders, age 12–17,

within 24–48 hr of entry into any decision-making point in the juvenile justice system (Grisso,

Barnum, Fletcher, Cauffman, & Peuschold, 2001). It identifies current feelings, thoughts, and

Tapia et al. 469