Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts among Court-Involved, Non-Incarcerated Youth

A recent study found that 14 percent of court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) youth have a lifetime history of suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts. These youth are more likely to have a history of prior criminal offenses, marijuana and/or alcohol use, and sexual abuse than CINI youth without a history of suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts. The study used data from 353 youth referred for a full forensic mental health evaluation at a juvenile court clinic in the Northeast United States.

CINI youth may be at particularly high risk for suicide because they may never reach detention, where they are more likely to encounter routine screening for suicidality. These findings support the need for systematic suicide screenings for CINI youth, and a better understanding of suicidal history among youth throughout the juvenile justice system. 

For more information on partnering with the juvenile justice system and other youth-serving state systems to collect suicide surveillance data, see Breaking Down Barriers: Using Youth Suicide-Related Surveillance Data from State Systems.

Kemp, K., Tolou-Shams, M., Conrad, S., Dauria, E., Neel, K., & Brown, L.  (2016). Suicidal ideation and attempts among court-involved, non-incarcerated youth. Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 16(3), 169–181.