Addressing a Mental Health Intervention Gap in Juvenile Detention: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Criminology

Background:

• Adolescents in juvenile detention exhibit high mental health disorder prevalence (60-70%) versus the general population (20%).
• These adolescents often experience worsening symptoms during detainment, linked to poor educational outcomes and adult recidivism.
• Youth of color are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system, exacerbating health inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based behavioral skills intervention for adolescents in juvenile detention.
• To assess the intervention's acceptability, feasibility, and impact on mental health symptoms and ACT-specific constructs.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 128 male adolescents (aged 14-17) in juvenile detention.
• Participants received an ACT-based behavioral skills intervention.
• Data collected on intervention acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and changes in mental health symptoms, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and perceived barriers.

Main Results:

• The ACT intervention was found to be acceptable, feasible, and implementable with fidelity in the juvenile detention setting.
• Intervention participants showed significant declines in mental health symptoms.
• Participants also demonstrated reductions in experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and perceived barriers to pursuing their values.

Conclusions:

• An ACT-based intervention is a viable and effective approach for improving mental health in justice-involved adolescents.
• This intervention has the potential to disrupt systemic inequities in youth mental health care.
• Further research, including a randomized controlled trial, is warranted to confirm these findings.