Juvenile Offenders with Mental Illness - Term Paper Example

Juvenile Offenders with Mental Illness The problem of criminality is one of the most serious and worth-discussing. The research shows that the mental health problems among children and teenagers in juvenile justice systems are increasing. Very often mental illness becomes the reason of committing crimes. This situation needs special attention in order to reveal and cure the illnesses. Statistics shows that a high percent of the arrested young people are mentally ill. It is no need to say that mental illnesses, which were not revealed and cured in childhood are the obstacles on the way to formation of a full-fledged personality. The trouble is that justice system does not pay as much attention as it is needed to this problem and do not provide such children with necessary help. Without appropriate treatment, such children risk to become criminals or at least demonstrate anti-social deviant behavior. Those who already committed crime risk to commit it again, as their mental state prevents them from understanding and following the rules of society. According to the estimation of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 75 % of those who have mental disorders and are in prison were previously involved in some criminal acts and cases. Fagan & Ax in their work state that “during the past 30 years there has been a dramatic rise in the number of incarcerated individuals in the United States. Current estimates are that more than 2.2 million individuals are housed in US prisons and jails with an additional 5 million people on probation and/or parole” (Fagan & Ax, 2011). Really, the laws of the United States are too strict and many people appear in prison even if they have a diagnosis that needs treatment. This creates a serious problem that has to be resolved as many of these people, especially juvenile offenders will live in our community again, thus serious measures should be taken in order to help them realize and overcome their mental problems. This situation can be resolved by the number of actions. According to Fagan & Ax, “housing supports are especially important for mentally ill offenders, because the stability of these individuals represents both a clinical and a public safety concern. Mentally ill offenders are also faced with the added challenge in ensuring community in their mental health care during the transition process” (Fagan & Ax, 2011). One of the solutions is the observation and objective evaluation of the situation and providing young people who suffer from mental illnesses with necessary support in order to help then overcome their problems and turn into healthy and positive personalities. There are a great number of disorders young people suffer from. They are substance abuse, foreboding, behavioral disorders etc. Sometimes young people may have two types of disorder at the same time. As usual it is the combination of substance abuse with any of mental disorders. As a result such people have deviant behavior and are inclined to commit crime. One of the states, which can lead to deviant behavior is depression and foreboding that is caused by the diminishing children’s capability. The Center of Mental Health Service states that children suffer from depression very often. Juvenile criminals very often suffer from depression. Schizophrenia is a wide-spread disease that can easily become a reason of deviant behavior and lead to crime. A child may suffer from it since early childhood without any noticeable symptoms (Tandon et al, 2008). The illness can be revealed only after the crime if already committed. If it is revealed in a juvenile offender, a child should be provided with necessary help in order to prevent further awful consequences. Antipsychotic agents such as aminazine, levomepromazine, trifluoroperazine, haloperidol, preciazine, metofenazate etc should be applied. If there is a necessity, these agents can be combined with other methods, for example with psychic energizers. Ataractic drugs, insulinotherapy, ergotherapy and psychotherapy can also be applied. Physical exhaustion even up to emaciation is typical for teenagers who suffer from schizophrenia with anorexia nervosa syndrome. In this case basic treatment should be combined with general health-improving therapy (Harrow & Jobe, 2013). Bipolar disorder is a very wide-spread state among teenagers. It is characterized by the periods of manic, periods of depression and the phases of normal state. Each period may last from several weeks till several months. During period of manic, the mood of teenager can rapidly change (Geddes & Miklowitz, 2013). A child can be extremely excited or on the contrary irritable. During the periods of depression a child may change its habits, lose interests to life, have difficulties in school. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for such type of disorder, but a person can receive appropriate medical help during his/her life. Medication and psychotherapy can normalize the state in critical phases (Zaretsky et al, 2007). Another type of disorders is the foreboding disorder. Such disorder is frequently met with girls and represents a post-traumatic disorder. Behavioral disorders are also very common. The most common disorder among young people is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The statistics shows that about 2 million American children suffer from it. In contrast to the emotional disorder that is more common for girls this disorder is typical for boys. In the most cases these illnesses prevent a child from becoming a full-fledged personality and can lead to committing crimes. The disruptive behavior disorders are frequently met among juvenile offenders. About 50 % of young criminals suffer from it. The substance abuse and dependency also play an important role and can accompany any mental disorder. This represents a serious problem for the modern society. Experts state that mental illnesses are easier to treat in adults than in young people. It can be explained by a great number of peculiarities, which the organism of a young person is characterized with. As the disorders and illnesses in young organism very often occur due to the rapid growth and development, timely treatment is of paramount importance. The cooperation of mental health community and juvenile justice systems is essential. Juvenile offenders should be examined by specialists and if a disorder is revealed, they should be provided with necessary help. Unfortunately, in modern prisons inmates do not receive appropriate help. They are allowed to visit a doctor only once a week that is not effective. This results in committing new crimes after release: “in addition to their medication needs, mentally ill offenders will also need to be connected with community mental health services once they released from prison” (Fagan & Ax, 2011). Proper and timely help is crucial, moreover, it should be provided also after the release to prevent new crisis. Perfect mental health system is one “in which competent clinicians; community support services such as active case management, vocational training, and safe, affordable housing, available medications, and crisis intervention services are both available and easily accessible” (Fagan & Ax, 2011). Only in this case children with mental disorders can get appropriate and timely help that will definitely reduce the number of criminal cases. The number of crimes should be prevented by all means and taking care about the mental health of citizens should be one of the main concerns of the government. References Fagan, Thomas and Ax, Robert. (2011). “Correctional Mental Health: from theory to best practice”. SAGE Publications Tandon R, Keshavan MS, Nasrallah HA. (2008). Schizophrenia, "Just the Facts": what we know in 2008 part 1: overview. Schizophrenia Research Harrow, M; Jobe, TH (2013 Mar 19). "Does Long-Term Treatment of Schizophrenia With Antipsychotic Medications Facilitate Recovery?". Schizophrenia bulletin 39 (5): 962–5. Geddes, JR; Miklowitz, DJ (2013 May 11). "Treatment of bipolar disorder". Lancet 381 (9878): 1672–82 Zaretsky, A. E.; Rizvi, S.; Parikh, S. V. (2007). "How well do psychosocial interventions work in bipolar disorder?". Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie 52 (1): 14–21 Read More