Treatment Recommendations for Juvenile Offenders Following Mental Health Overview

Investigation of the variations in aspirant juvenile probation officers' recommendations for a juvenile offender who may suffer from a mental health disorder was the purpose of this study. Two hypotheses were developed to test this purpose: a) there was a significant difference between the recommendations of mental health evaluations and b) there was a significant difference in the recommendations for a mental health evaluation prior to and after the mental health overview administered among two groups. A survey was administered to 13 undergraduate students with an aspiration to be juvenile probation officers. The survey consisted of a pretest and posttest questionnaire following a case vignette where a juvenile offender meeting the criteria for conduct disorder was described to measure if the mental health overview would increase the participant's likelihood of recommending a mental health evaluation. A Chi Square and McNemar Test were completed. The statistical analyses and implications are discussed