[Screening of psychopathology with juvenile deviants]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Forensic Science

Background:

• The Basic Council Examination (BARO) is a mental health screening instrument developed in the Netherlands.
• Adolescents in contact with juvenile justice often present with mental health issues requiring effective screening tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version of the BARO.
• To determine the reliability and validity of the BARO for screening mental health disorders in delinquent adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A validation study was conducted with 125 Swiss German-speaking adolescents referred for forensic investigation.
• The BARO was administered alongside diagnostic interviews (DIPS, SKID II) and a user-applicability questionnaire.
• Psychometric properties including internal consistency, interrater reliability, and diagnostic accuracy (ROC analysis) were assessed.

Main Results:

• The German BARO demonstrated good to very good reliability (internal consistency α = .80, interrater reliability r = .84).
• Validity analysis using ROC estimation showed a high area under the curve (AUC = .88), indicating excellent diagnostic power.
• An optimal cut-off score of 16.5 yielded a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 84%.
• Mental health professionals rated the BARO's applicability as satisfying.

Conclusions:

• The German BARO is a psychometrically sound and effective mental health screening instrument for adolescents involved with the juvenile justice system.
• Its good discriminative power supports its utility in identifying potential mental health disorders in this population.
• Further research is recommended to explore its use in diverse populations and its predictive validity for long-term outcomes.