Stop Injustice Now - News

Full Story:
http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0379.htm
(Emotional intelligence, mental health and juvenile delinquency). Report The report of a study by Hayes and O’Reilly, was presented at an international conference at University College Dublin on 18th May 2007. Researchers interviewed three groups of adolescent males (average age 14.9 years): 30 participants were residing in juvenile detention schools (the offender group), 20 had been referred to an adolescent mental health service in HSE South (the mental health group), and 30 were recruited from a secondary school in County Cork (the control group). They used a number of validated instruments to determine each child’s emotional intelligence and mental well-being, and obtained demographic characteristics and history of offending by means of a questionnaire). The findings show that children in detention schools in Ireland experience very high rates of substance dependence and psychiatric disorder, (Co-morbidity), engage in serious criminal behaviour and have significant deficits in emotional intelligence and cognitive ability. Eight out of ten (83%) of the offender group met diagnostic criteria for at least one psychological disorder, with an average being 3.1 disorders per detainee, which was considerably higher than that in the mental health group. Of the offender group, 18.5% reported experiencing thoughts of suicide, and the same percentage reported that they had attempted to take their own lives on at least one occasion. Over one-third (38%0 met diagnostic criteria for internalising (emotional) disorders such as anxiety and depression, and 68% for externalising (disruptive) disorders such as conduct and attention deficit disorders. Sixty-seven per-cent of the offender group met the criteria for at least one substance-related disorder. Approximately equal numbers reported using cocaine (13/30), alcohol (14/30) and cannabis (14/30). Based on participants’ reports of substance use in the 12 months prior to interview, researchers assigned them to one of three categories: Dependency disorder (those addicted to one or more substances, use disorder (regular users of one or more drugs but who did not have a diagnosis of addiction. One member of the offender group reported not having taken any drugs or alcohol in the previous 12 months. Detainees with substance dependency disorders reported that they first began to use alcohol and cannabis at an average age of just nine year, and cocaine at 13 years. The majority did not receive treatment for psychiatric or substance use problems. Despite incarceration, these boys had continued access to alcohol and drugs, possibly through home leave, during family visits or during court appearances. According to the authors, this continued access to drugs and alcohol served to sustain their dependency and use difficulties.