Youth Pathways: Evaluating the Influence of Gender, Involvement With the Public Mental Health System, Perceived Mental Health Need, and Traumatic Experiences on Juvenile Justice System Processing

• Author: Jonathan R. Sorensen,Scott Walfield,Erin M. Espinosa
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204019889664
• Published date: 01 July 2020
• Date: 01 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Youth Pathways: Evaluating

the Influence of Gender,

Involvement With

the Public Mental Health

System, Perceived Mental

Health Need, and Traumatic

Experiences on Juvenile

Justice System Processing

Erin M. Espinosa

1

, Jonathan R. Sorensen

2

, and Scott Walfield

2

Abstract

This study examined the influence of gender, participation in public mental health services, perceived

mental health need, and traumatic experiences on juvenile justice system processing. Data were

collected on youth formally processed for delinquency or status offenses by a large statewide

juvenile justice system and youth served by the state’s public mental health system during a 7-year

period (n¼271,427). The results indicated that accessing mental health services in the community

or being viewed as having a mental health need by a juvenile probation officer increased the like-

lihood of youth being removed from their home by the juvenile justice system, especially for girls.

While girls generally had decreased odds of out-of-home placement compared to boys, their odds

significantly increased when combined with involvement in public mental health services and/or

receiving a violation of probation. Once placed out of the home, boys discharged much more quickly

than girls, with the rate of discharge being related primarily to the severity of their offenses. When

controlling for relevant variables using propensity score matching, girls who experienced trauma or

involvement with the public mental health system had a significantly lower rate of discharge from

out-of-home placement than similarly matched boys.

Keywords

mental health, gender, out-of-home placement, disposition, trauma

1

National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Oakland, CA, USA

2

Department of Criminal Justice, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Erin M. Espinosa, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 520 3rd Street, Suite 101, Oakland, CA 9607, USA.

Email: eespinosa@nccdglobal.org

Youth Violence and JuvenileJustice

2020, Vol. 18(3) 215-234

ªThe Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/1541204019889664

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The number of juvenile offenders in out-of-home placement across the United States has decreased

by 42%since 1997. However, the rate of girls’ involvement in the juvenile justice sy stem has

steadily increased (Hockenberry & Sickmund, 2014). Once juvenile justice system–involved girls

are removed from the home, their rate of release from out-of-home placement is slower than for

similarly situated boys (Espinosa & Sorensen, 2015). Girls who have had traumatic life experiences

are prone to involvement in status offenses and other forms of minor delinquency, which are likely to

bring them into contact with the juvenile justice system. Judges have been shown to place female

offenders in out-of-home placement or confinement for low-level offenses such as contempt of

court, violation of probation (VOP), or violations of court orders. A prior study conducted in three

metropolitan counties in Texas during 2007–2008 found that exposure to traumatic experiences

increased the likelihood of out-of-home placement or confinement for boys and girls but had a

stronger influence on all levels of placement—from detention through state correctional commit-

ment—for girls. Similarly, while a VOP increased the odds of secure out-of-home placement for

both, girls with a VOP experienced 7 times greater risk of confinement than boys (Espinosa,

Sorensen, & Lopez, 2013).

This study examined pathways girls take to and through the juvenile justice system by evaluating

data on youth served by a large statewide juvenile justice system from 2007 to 2014. While much

attention has been paid to gender disparities in juvenile justice case processing, most studies have

limited their focus to pretrial detention decisions, adjudication, or dispositional outcomes. Given

girls’ pathways to and through the juvenile justice system, which often includes trauma, mental

health needs, and the use of violation of a court order or contempt of court as a means of confining

girls, it is reasonable to hypothesize that girls who have had contact with the mental health system

will be subjected to many of these same forces in the processing of their cases through the juvenile

justice system. This study examined differences in out-of-home placements between boys and girls.

Specifically, the study sought to determine whether girls—particularly those who have experienced

trauma—who were involved with the public mental health service system or perceived to have a

mental health need by their supervising juvenile probation officer experienced more severe and/or

longer out-of-home placements than similarly situated boys.

Gendered Pathways

Girls experience a different pathway toward and through the juvenile justice system than boys.

Although female offenders occasionally engage in conduct that is stereotypically male, such as

aggression and assaultive behavior (Cauffman, Feldman, Waterman, & Steiner, 1998), they more

often suppress their aggression and struggle with the difficulty of managing their emotions, espe-

cially those associated with depression and anxiety (Fo rd, Chapman, Mack, & Pearson, 2006).

Compared to boys, female offenders have a higher risk of suicidality (Wannan & Fombonne,

1998; Wasserman, McReynolds, Ko, Katz, & Carpenter, 2005) and greater conflict with school and

family (Zoccolillo, Tremblay, & Vitaro, 1996).

Expanding on the research on the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on negative

adult health and criminal justice outcomes, researchers have begun to examine the influence or

impact of ACEs on juvenile justice involvement. One such study found that while composite ACE

scores were generally similar across genders for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, girls

reported higher rates of sexual abuse than boys (Baglivio, Epps, Swartz, Huq, & Hardt, 2014). In

addition, the study indicated girls had a higher rate of endorsement on any single ACE indicator than

boys. In a follow-up study, Baglivio and Epps (2016) found the number of justice-involved girls who

had six or more ACE endorsements (29%) was more than 2 times greater than those of their male

counterparts (14%).

216 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 18(3)