Health status of young offenders and their families

Purpose: To describe the health status of youth committed and detained by t he Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice. The problem of complex health n eeds of young offenders is gaining importance as the number of youth under the care of state juvenile justice systems steadily increases. Methods: The health status of a random sample (N = 350) of male and female committed or detained young offenders was assessed utilizing a record revie w and a self-report health survey. Results: Ninety-seven percent of the sample reported levels of physical dis comfort and 92% reported emotional discomfort. Nearly half (45%) of the you th had some medical condition, 53% had been abused, 20% injured 16% sustain ed a gunshot or stab wound. Of youth reporting physical injury, 12% did not receive treatment. Family members, including siblings experienced similar health problems. Conclusions: Patterns of physical and behavioral health problems were noted within these families, as were patterns of criminal behavior. Trans-genera tional patterns of at-risk behaviors were evident. Most youth (86%) perceiv ed themselves to be healthy. However, when specific health indicators were examined discrepancies between health status and health perceptions were no ted.