HEALTH OUTCOMES OF CHILDHOOD CRIMINALIZATION 

Childhood criminalization is the systematic, institutional, and legal process by which a child's behaviors are being transformed into crime and punished as a criminal. 

HEALTH OUTCOMES

4X

For youth with a history of juvenile incarceration, mortality measured 4 times higher than the general adolescent population rate, with homicide accounting for 90% of deaths.

52%

One study found that 52% of detained youth reported active suicidal ideation and one-third reported prior suicide attempts. Detained youth commit suicide at a rate more than 4 times greater than the general adolescent population.

66% of incarcerated boys meet criteria for at least 1 psychiatric diagnoses, with substance use, behavior disorders, and depression being the most prevalent. 

66%

75%

75% of incarcerated girls meet criteria for at least 1 psychiatric diagnoses, with substance use, behavior disorders, and depression being the most prevalent. 

Source: Barnert, E, Perry, R., & Morris, R. (2016). Juvenile Incarceration and Health. Academic Pediatrics, 16(2), 990109. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2015.09.006

TRENDS IN YOUTH INCARCERATION

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