Delinquency, substance use, and risky sexual behaviors among youth who are involved in the justice system and predominantly reside in rural communities: patterns and associated risk factors

ABSTRACT

There is a significant gap in research examining the prevalence of problem behaviors among youth involved in the juvenile justice system in rural areas. The current study sought to address this gap by exploring the behavioral patterns of 210 youth who were on juvenile probation in predominantly rural counties and who were identified as having a substance use disorder. First, we examined the correlation among 7 problem behaviors representing different forms of substance use, delinquency, and sexual risk-taking and 8 risk factors related to recent service utilization, internalizing and externalizing difficulties, and social support networks. Then, we used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify distinct behavioral profiles based on the observed problem behaviors. LCA identified a 3-class model representing distinct groups labeled Experimenting (70%), Polysubstance Use + Delinquent Behaviors (24%), and Diverse Delinquent Behaviors (6%). Finally, we assessed differences (i.e., ANOVA, χ²) in each risk factor across the behavioral profiles. Important similarities and differences in the association among the problem behaviors, behavioral profiles, and the risk factors were revealed. These findings underscore the need for an interconnected behavioral health model within rural juvenile justice systems that is able to address youths’ multidimensional needs including criminogenic, behavioral, and physical health needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Rural
• substance abuse
• juvenile justice
• adolescent problem behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. No statistically significant differences in gender (χ² [2] = 2.64, p > .05) or age (t [318] = 0.38, p > .05) were observed across the study sample (n = 210) and youth excluded (n = 125).

2. The estimator used for the LCA models was MLR which produces standard errors that are robust to non-normality (see Muthen & Muthen, 1998–2017).

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (K23DA048161, R01DA041434). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The authors extend their appreciation to participating youth, families, and juvenile probation officers.

Notes on contributors

Kristina Childs

Kristina Childs, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. Her research interests include juvenile risk and need assessment practices, evaluation of prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth, and the effectiveness of mental health and de-escalation training and education for front-line juvenile justice decision-makers.

Jill Viglione

Jill Viglione, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on the implementation of evidence-based practices, individual and organizational responses to policy reform, and decision making within correctional agencies.

Jason E. Chapman

Jason E. Chapman, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center who specializes in research design, measurement development and evaluation, and advanced statistical methods. His research includes studies evaluating the efficacy, effectiveness, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based practices across mental health, child welfare, and justice settings. Additionally, Dr. Chapman focuses on IRT-based development and evaluation of instruments for measuring intervention and implementation fidelity.

Tess K. Drazdowski

Tess K. Drazdowski, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist and licensed clinical psychologist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. Her research concentrates on the prevention and intervention for the misuse of prescription drugs, cannabis use, and polysubstance use in primarily young adults. Dr. Drazdowski has published peer-review articles on anxiety, sleep, substance use, young people impacted by the justice system, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.

Michael R. McCart

Michael R. McCart, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized training in cognitive, behavioral, and family systems approaches to treating serious problems in adolescents and emerging adults. Dr. McCart’s research centers on enhancing behavioral health services for two high-risk populations: (1) adolescents and emerging adults with substance use and co-occurring behavior problems and (2) victims of interpersonal violence. His work spans all phases of intervention research, including initial development and pilot testing of treatment protocols, randomized efficacy studies, and multi-site effectiveness trials.

Ashli J. Sheidow

Ashli J. Sheidow, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist and Science Director at the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC). Dr. Sheidow researches treatments for mental health and substance use problems in adolescents and emerging adults, particularly those who have co-occurring problems or are justice-involved. She is also focused on effective dissemination of evidence-based practices, in particular through improving training and support for community-based providers. Her research interests have focused broadly on the development, prevention, and treatment of adolescent and young adult psychopathology and delinquency from an ecological perspective, with concentrations in co-occurring disorders, effective implementation of evidence-based practices, and advanced quantitative methods.