Juvenile Justice: Psychological Tools for Assessing Young Offenders

Psychological assessments are an integral part of the juvenile justice system. These assessments are helpful to the courts in making informed decisions throughout various stages of juvenile cases, including arrest, detention, filing charges, and both adjudicative and post-adjudicative phases. The decisions made at these stages depend on multiple factors. These psychological assessments serve three primary purposes-

1. To categorize juveniles upon entering the system
2. To evaluate their mental capacity to be tried as adults
3. To assist in determining the appropriate sentence and punishment for the juvenile offender.

Various longitudinal and experimental research has been conducted across various countries to understand offending trajectories and their associated risk factors. These studies have revealed that the majority of young individuals follow an offending trajectory. These are characterized by minor delinquent behaviours during adolescence, which are typically abandoned by late adolescence. However, a small percentage of these individuals continue in their criminal behaviour that later progresses into chronic and serious criminal activity.

Understanding offending trajectories allows the justice system to identify the most significant risk factors that contribute to the development of a serious criminal career. Studies have demonstrated that the accumulation of multiple risk factors across various domains significantly increases the likelihood of a young person transitioning to a trajectory of serious offending.

Assessments of Juveniles

The initial assessment for juveniles entering the juvenile justice system centres on two primary factors:

1. Risk of reoffending
2. Child’s mental health status. This process is divided into two parts
   1. Screening- This involves a rapid evaluation addressing immediate concerns
   2. Assessment- These are more detailed and individualized. Assessments are aimed at long-term intervention.

Risk Assessments

Assessing the risk of violence or other criminal reoffending is an important task for professionals in correctional and forensic mental health services. A wide range of risk assessment tools have been developed over the past few decades to help mental health professionals structure their risk evaluations. The information obtained from these tools helps in identifying individuals who are at high risk of reoffending. These tools also guide legal decisions about the level of interventions or community reintegration and assist therapists in targeting areas to reduce the risk of violent reoffending. An effective risk assessment can guide early interventions and help reduce the emotional, social, and economic costs associated with persistent offending throughout life.

Risk Assessment- Some of the risk assessment tools are as follows:

1. Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)- This assessment scale incorporates risk factors as well as protective factors. It is a 24-item Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY). It evaluates the potential for violence in adolescents by examining factors across three key domains-
   1. Historical Risk Factors: This domain assesses the adolescent’s history, which includes past violence, incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts, and exposure to violence within the home environment.
   2. Social/Contextual Risk Factors: This area focuses on the adolescent’s social environment, looking at influences such as peer delinquency and rejection, stress levels and coping abilities, parental management quality, availability of personal support, and community organization or lack thereof.
   3. Individual/Clinical Factors: This domain explores personal characteristics and behaviours, including negative attitudes, risk-taking and impulsivity, substance use issues, anger management problems, and deficiencies in personal and social support systems.

This tool also evaluates protective factors that may reduce the risk of violence. These protective factors include involvement in prosocial activities, a good social support network, strong attachments and bonds, positive attitudes towards authority figures, etc. However, the scale had limitations in assessing these protective factors.

2. Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk–Youth Version(SAPROF-YV)- This test was developed to enhance the focus on protective factors within predominantly risk-focused assessments. This tool has 17 protective factors that are categorised into three categories. This tool exclusively addresses protective factors and is intended to be used alongside primarily risk-focused assessment tools, such as the SAVRY or the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory.

Mental Health Assessment

Mental health assessments play an important role in determining whether a child is at risk of offending again. These assessments help in understanding the child and their potential for aggression and the risk of suicide. It also assesses the possibility of any psychiatric disorders. One of the important tools that is used to assess the level of mental functioning and awareness of the child is the Mental Status Examination (MSE).  MSEs generally cover the following points:

1. Appearance, Attitude, and Behavior: During this phase, clinicians observe the youth to assess their hygiene, attire, grooming, posture, appropriateness of behaviour, facial expressions, attitude during the interview, motor activity, and mannerisms.
2. Speech: The spontaneity of conversation, fluency, articulation, speech rate, etc. is assessed
3. Affect and Mood: Affect refers to the outward display of emotion, while mood pertains to the pervasive emotional state affecting one’s perception of the world. It is noted whether there is a match between a youth’s stated mood (e.g., “happy”) and their observed effect (e.g., dull or depressed).
4. Thought Processes: This includes assessing coherence, logical sequencing of thoughts, tangentiality, and whether the individual stays on topic or digresses.
5. Orientation: This assesses whether the youth is aware of person, place, situation, and time.
6. Concentration, Attention, and Memory: These cognitive functions are tested by tasks such as recalling numbers forward and backwards, counting backwards by intervals, and remembering objects or words after a delay.

This assessment is a valuable tool for understanding different aspects of a youth’s mental functioning and behaviour.

Drug Assessment

Drug assessments and programs are increasingly recognized for their role in addressing the correlation between drug dependency and recidivism among juvenile offenders. Using these screening tools for drugs early in the process is believed to offer a proactive approach to diverting young people away from the justice system. Some of the drug assessment tools include-

1.MACH (Minnesota Assessment of Chemical Health)- MACH is a comprehensive assessment tool that is designed to evaluate the drug involvement of an adolescent. It utilizes a standardized interview format that can either be administered directly to the client or self-administered. The assessment uses a branching process. In this process, the client’s responses dictate the direction of the interview. It typically takes about 30 minutes to complete, with immediate computer-generated results. These results include analyses such as identifying the degree of drug dependency, highlighting current stressors that may require psychological treatment, and assessing prognostic indicators based on prior functioning levels. The MACH also categorizes the severity of problems related to drug or alcohol use across various life domains using its Assessment Matrix. It provides a Referral Grid for suggesting appropriate interventions based on severity and environmental obstacles.

2. Adolescent Chemical Dependency Inventory (ACDI) – It is a self-administered test that is available in both computerized and booklet formats. This test was designed to be accessible at a 6th-grade reading level. It consists of 104 items and typically takes about 20 minutes to complete. Immediate results are generated upon completion, detailing scores across five empirically-based scales-

1. Truthfulness
2. Alcohol-related problems
3. Drug-related problems
4. Distress (anxiety and depression)
5. Adjustment (coping and functioning in key life areas)

This tool is very helpful in providing risk assessments categorized into low, medium, problem, and severe problem ranges for each scale. It also offers specific treatment and probation recommendations based on these findings.

These different kinds of assessments ensure a better understanding of juveniles’ needs and risks. They help the juvenile justice system make informed decisions for better rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

These MCQs can be used to assess knowledge and understanding of psychological assessments in the juvenile justice system.

Question 1

What are the primary purposes of psychological assessments in the juvenile justice system?

A) To punish juveniles
B) To categorize juveniles, evaluate mental capacity, and determine appropriate sentencing
C) To gather family history
D) To collect evidence against juveniles

Answer: B) To categorize juveniles, evaluate mental capacity, and determine appropriate sentencing

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Question 2

Which of the following is not a risk factor evaluated in the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)?

A) Historical Risk Factors
B) Social/Contextual Risk Factors
C) Family Income Level
D) Individual/Clinical Factors

Answer: C) Family Income Level

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Question 3

What is the main focus of the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk–Youth Version (SAPROF-YV)?

A) Assessing historical offenses
B) Identifying protective factors against violence
C) Determining the likelihood of reoffending
D) Evaluating mental health status

Answer: B) Identifying protective factors against violence

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Question 4

Which assessment tool is used to evaluate a juvenile’s drug involvement and can provide recommendations for interventions?

A) Mental Status Examination (MSE)
B) Adolescent Chemical Dependency Inventory (ACDI)
C) Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)
D) Risk Assessment Tool for Youth

Answer: B) Adolescent Chemical Dependency Inventory (ACDI)

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Question 5

The initial assessment of juveniles entering the juvenile justice system focuses mainly on which two factors?

A) Past criminal history and family background
B) Risk of reoffending and child’s mental health status
C) Social media presence and school performance
D) Age and gender

Answer: B) Risk of reoffending and child’s mental health status

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Question 6

During a Mental Status Examination (MSE), which of the following is NOT typically assessed?

A) Speech fluency
B) Social media usage
C) Appearance and behavior
D) Orientation

Answer: B) Social media usage

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Question 7

What do the results of drug assessments aim to identify in juvenile offenders?

A) The number of arrests
B) Rates of school dropout
C) Degree of drug dependency and current stressors
D) Family dynamics

Answer: C) Degree of drug dependency and current stressors

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Question 8

Which of the following elements is part of the Mental Status Examination (MSE)?

A) Feedback from parents
B) Cognitive function tests
C) Social skills assessment
D) Peer group evaluation

Answer: B) Cognitive function tests

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References

1. Grigorenko, E. L. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of juvenile forensic psychology and psychiatry. Springer Science & Business Media.
2. Kleeven ATH, de Vries Robbé M, Mulder EA, Popma A. Risk Assessment in Juvenile and Young Adult Offenders: Predictive Validity of the SAVRY and SAPROF-YV. Assessment. 2022 Mar;29(2):181-197. doi: 10.1177/1073191120959740. Epub 2020 Sep 23. PMID: 32964720; PMCID: PMC8796163.
3. https://www.haqcrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/haq-group-report-1.pdf
4. Savignac, J. (2010). Tools to identify and assess the risk of offending among youth. National Crime Prevention Centre, Public Safety Canada.
5. Underwood LA, Washington A. Mental Illness and Juvenile Offenders. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Feb 18;13(2):228. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13020228. PMID: 26901213; PMCID: PMC4772248.
6. https://www.saprof.com/index-4.html
7. https://www.rma.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Structured-Assessment-of-Violence-Risk-in-Youth-SAVRY.pdf
8. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Combining Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Treatment With Diversion for Juveniles in the Justice System. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 1995. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 21.) Appendix E—Assessment Instruments for Adolescent Populations. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64476/