Adolescence Predictors for Drug Crime Offending: A Follow-up Study of Former Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

Our aim was to examine adolescent predictors (family- and school-related factors, substance use, and psychiatric disorders) for drug crime offending. The initial study population consisted of 508 former adolescent psychiatric inpatients aged between 13 and 17 years. Of them, 60 (12%) had committed a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Community mental health journal 2021-05, Vol.57 (4), p.736-745
Main Authors: Kontu, Mikaela, Hakko, Helinä, Riala, Kaisa, Riipinen, Pirkko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescence
Adolescents
Child & adolescent psychiatry
Community and Environmental Psychology
Crime
Criminal records
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Drug crimes
Drugs
Families & family life
Hospitalization
Juvenile offenders
Lying
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental disorders
Mental health
Nicotine
Offending
Original Paper
Psychiatric hospitals
Psychiatry
Risk factors
Sex offenders
Stimulants
Substance abuse
Teenagers
Young adults
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Summary:Our aim was to examine adolescent predictors (family- and school-related factors, substance use, and psychiatric disorders) for drug crime offending. The initial study population consisted of 508 former adolescent psychiatric inpatients aged between 13 and 17 years. Of them, 60 (12%) had committed a drug crime by young adulthood and they were matched with 120 (24%) non-criminal controls by sex, age and family type. During adolescent hospitalization, study participants were interviewed using valid semi-structured research instruments. Criminal records were obtained from the Finnish Legal Register Centre up to young adulthood. A distant relationship with a father, lying, and thieving, moderate/high nicotine dependence and weekly use of stimulants were shown to be the most prominent predictors for drug crime offending. Our findings encourage the use of modern child- and family-centered approaches in preventing youth involvement in illegal drug use and drug crimes.
ISSN:0010-3853
1573-2789
DOI:10.1007/s10597-020-00708-2