Mental health screening instrument domain scores as predictors of recidivism in juvenile probation and drug court populations

ABSTRACT

For juvenile offenders with an identified substance abuse history, the need for early intervention and screening is increasingly critical. This study investigated the use of MAYSI-2 and POSIT standardized screening measures to better understand if the domains measured by these tools could predict recidivism in a juvenile drug court (JDC) population. Findings indicated that none of the domain scores analyzed were predictive of recidivism scores in neither the juvenile probation, nor drug court adolescents. These outcomes suggest that for the juvenile population, these screening tools may be effective measures of potential mental health risks, but poor measures of recidivism.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug court
• MAYSI-2
• mental health
• POSIT
• recidivism
• screening