Young Offenders in Brazil: Mental Health and Factors of Risk and Protection

Abstract

Introduction:The literature has indicated that young offenders may show varied problems of mental health; however, in Brazil a limited number of studies are focused on that question. Objective: Identify the health, self-esteem and social support levels of male young offenders complying with not confined socio-educational measures, the parenting styles adopted towards them and identify the relationship between these variables. Methods: It is an exploratory and correlational study in which 33 male young offenders aged between 14 and 18 years who attend the socio-educational programme of a mid-size city in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, took part on the study, they answered specific instruments to appraise different variables of focus. Results:The results indicate that 67% of the adolescents presented mental health disorders; 84% perceive that the social support received is below "low" or "medium", and 33% judge the parental style of their caregiver as a risk. The greater the negligence and poor support of the family and caregivers, the lower the self-esteem of young offenders. Conclusions: Most of the adolescents had mental health disorders and evaluated the social support received as low or medium. All participants evaluated negatively the parental style adopted by their parents. The parental style used was considered below average and risky. Furthermore, was observed that the lower the self-esteem of the adolescents and the lower the family support perceived by them, the higher was the degree of parental negligence evaluated. It is understood that these results reinforce the need for intersectoral coordination in actions aimed at this population.

Conducta criminal y trastornos mentales: revisión sistemática de instrumentos de autorreporte para adolescentes en conflicto con la ley

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History of Occupational Therapy in Brazil: Inequalities, Advances, and Challenges

“…In mental health and psychiatry, the movement toward deinstitutionalization that has occurred in Brazil since 1980 enabled occupational therapists to provide services in day hospitals, outpatient clinics, social centers, psychosocial care centers, cooperatives, and companion services, and has replaced the services previously provided in mental health clinics (Mângia & Nicácio, 2001). Recent practices include the prevention of mental health problems by identifying risk factors and protecting school age children (Silva, Matsukura, Cid, & Minatel, 2015). Another strategy focused on the generation of income from technological incubators of popular cooperatives, with the participation of mental health service users (Lussi, Matsukura, & Hahn, 2010;Lussi, Tessarini, & Morato, 2015).…”