Objective-To examine suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, lethality of suicide attempts, and the relationship between psychiatric disorder and recent attempts in newly detained juveniles.Methods-The sample included 1829 juveniles, aged 10 to 18 years, sampled after intake to a detention center in Chicago, IL. Interviewers administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) to assess for thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, suicide plans, lifetime suicide attempts, number of attempts, age at first attempt, attempts within the last 6 months, method of suicide attempts, and psychiatric disorder.Results-More than one-third of juvenile detainees and nearly half of females had felt hopeless or thought about death in the 6 months prior to detention. Approximately 1 of 10 (10.3%, CI: 7.7% -12.8%) juvenile detainees had thought about committing suicide in the past 6 months, and 1 of 10 (11.0%, CI: 8.3% -13.7%) had ever attempted suicide. Recent suicide attempts were most prevalent in females and youth with major depression and generalized anxiety disorder.Conclusions-Fewer than half of detainees with recent thoughts of suicide had told anyone about their ideation. Identifying youth at risk for suicide --especially those suffering from depressive and anxiety disorders --is a crucial step to preventing suicide.

Purpose This article examines functional impairment across global and specific dimensions among youth 3 years after their detention. Methods Functional impairment was assessed using the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) in a large, stratified, random sample of formerly detained youth (N = 1653). Results More than one-fifth of the sample were scored as having marked impairment that required, at minimum, “multiple sources of care” (CAFAS Total Score of 100 or higher); 7.0% required “intensive intervention” (CAFAS Total Score ≥140). Most of the sample had impairment; only 7.5% of the sample had “no noteworthy impairment” (CAFAS Total Score ≤10). Significantly more males were impaired than females. Among males living in the community at follow-up, African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to be impaired than non-Hispanic whites. In comparison to males living in the community, males who were incarcerated at follow-up were significantly more likely to have impaired thinking and impaired functioning at their place of residence but less likely to have substance use problems. Conclusions Three years after detention, most youth struggle in one or more life domains; more than one in five have marked impairment in functioning. These findings underscore the ongoing costs, to both youth and society, of our failure to provide effective rehabilitation to youth after detention.

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