Substance Use Disorders, Comorbidity, and Arrest Among Indigenous Adolescents

Indigenous adolescents are overrepresented at multiple stages of the justice system, but we know very little about the role that mental health, particularly substance use disorder, plays in Indigenous pathways to arrest. This study examined the association between substance use disorder, its comorbi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crime and delinquency 2015-12, Vol.61 (10), p.1311-1332
Main Authors: Sittner Hartshorn, Kelley J., Whitbeck, Les B., Prentice, Patricia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrest
Arrests
Canada
Comorbidity
Criminal justice
Criminology
Drug abuse
Indigenous peoples
Juvenile delinquency
Mental disorders
Mental health
Mental illness
Midwest states
Native North Americans
Substance abuse
United States
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Summary:Indigenous adolescents are overrepresented at multiple stages of the justice system, but we know very little about the role that mental health, particularly substance use disorder, plays in Indigenous pathways to arrest. This study examined the association between substance use disorder, its comorbidity with other disorders, and arrest using a longitudinal sample of Indigenous youth from the Northern Midwest and Canada. Of the 16% of youth who reported at least one arrest at Wave 5, half met criteria for substance abuse/dependence and slightly more for conduct disorder. Substance abuse/dependence and conduct disorder were each associated with an increased risk of arrest, although co-occurring disorders were not. The reciprocal effects of arrest and mental disorder are discussed.
ISSN:0011-1287
1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128712466372