Prevalence and Risk Factors of Psychological Distress Among Indonesian Incarcerated Male Juveniles
Abstract
Background/Aim: Adolescence is a developmental period that is rife with emotional problems as adolescents lack psychological maturity. Juvenile offenders who are incarcerated may be more vulnerable to psychological distress. Aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence and risks of psychological distress among male juveniles (MJs) incarcerated in Indonesia.
Method: The participants of this study were 206 male juvenile offenders (MJOs) aged 12-17 from 28 Special Child Development Institutions (Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Khusus Anak; LPKA) in Indonesia. The participants' socio-demographic data was gathered while the strength and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess the extent of their psychological distress.
Results: Of the 47.6 % of participants that reported psychological distress, peer relationship problems (64.6 %) was the most severe, followed by conduct problems (51.5 %). The binary logistic regression results revealed that education level (p = 0.005) and psychological trauma (p < 0.001) correlated with psychological distress and that they were responsible for 37.5 % of psychological distress. Therefore, education level and psycho-trauma significantly affect the extent of the psychological distress that MJOs in Indonesia experience.
Conclusion: Juveniles require support to further their formal or informal education. Furthermore, healthcare providers could develop appropriate interventions to manage specific traumatic events as well as prevent or improve the mental health of MJOs.
References
A1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Recorded Crime - Offenders: 2021-22 financial year [Internet]. 2023 February [Cited: 8-Feb-2023]. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-offenders/2021-22.
Rochmawati DH. [The relationship between self-concept and the ability to the meaning of life ability to establish the meaning of life in incarcerated juvenile in Semarang Class 1 Prison] JKS. 2014 Nov 1;9(3):197-204. doi: 10.20884/1.jks.2014.9.3.614. Indonesian.
Hilman DP, Indrawati ES. [The experience of being a juvenile incarcerated in Semarang Class I Prison]. Jurnal Empati. 2018 Mar 5;7(3):189-203. Indonesian.
Development Services Group. Intersection between mental health and the juvenile justice system. Off Juv Justice Delinq Prev. [Internet]. 2017 July [Cited: 12-Mar-2021];1-13. Available at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/litreviews/Intersection-Mental-Health-Juvenile-Justice.pdf.
Bartram M, Chodos H. Changing directions, changing lives: The mental health strategy for Canada: calling for critical deliberation on implementation. Can J Comm Mental Health. 2013;32(4):1-8. Doi:10.7870/cjcmh-2013-001.
Åkesdotter C, Kenttä G, Eloranta S, Franck J. The prevalence of mental health problems in elite athletes. J Sci Med Sport. 2019 Nov 2;23(4):329-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2019.10.022.
Haavik L, Joa I, Hatloy K, Stain HJ, Langeveld J. Help seeking for mental health problems in an adolescent population: the effect of gender. J Ment Health. 2017 July 18;28(5):467-74. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2017.1340630.
Kuranga AT, Yussuf AD. Psychiatric morbidity amongst adolescents in a Nigerian juvenile correctional facility. S Afr J Psychiatr. 2021 Aug 16;27(0):1590. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1590.
Kim Ji, Kim B, Kim BN, Hong SB, Lee DW, Chung JY, et al. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders, comorbidity patterns, and repeat offending among male juvenile detainees in South Korea: a cross-sectional study. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2017 Jan 18;11(6):1-9. doi: 10.1186/s13034-017-0143-x.
Okwara LV. Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among juvenile offenders committed to Borstal institutions in Kenya. Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi, 2013.
Westberg KH, Nyholm M, Nygren JM, Svedberg P. Mental health problems among young people—a scoping review of help-seeking. International journal of environmental research and public health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 27;19(3):1430. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031430.
Murphy M, Fonagy P. Mental health problems in children and young people. Annual report of the chief medical officer 2012:1-3. [Internet]. [Cited: 8-Feb-2023]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c4971e5274a1b00422bf9/33571_2901304_CMO_Chapter_10.pdf.
Borschmann R, Janca E, Carter A, Willoughby M, Hughes N, Snow K, et al. The health of adolescents in detention: a global scoping review. Lancet Publ Health. 2020 Jan 6;5(2):E114-26. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30217-8.
Kinner S, Degenhardt L, Coffey C, Sawyer SM, Hearps SSJC, Patton GC. Complex health needs in the youth justice system: a survey of community-based and custodial offenders. J Adolesc Health. 2014 May;54(5):521-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.10.003.
Casswell M, French P, Rogers A. Distress, defiance or adaptation? A review paper of at-risk mental health states in young offenders. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2012 Feb 5;6(3):219-28. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-7893.2012.00344.x.
Houchins DE, Jimenez E, Langley N, Plescow K, Henrich CC. Predictors of self- determination and mental health symptoms among youth in juvenile justice facilities. Behavioral Disorders 2021 Mar 13;46(3):138-48. doi:10.1177/0198742920911182.
Pat P, Richter-Sundberg L, Jegannathan B, Edin K, San Sebastian M. Mental health problems and suicidal expressions among young male prisoners in Cambodia: a cross- sectional study. Glob Health Action. 2021 Oct 13;14(1):1985229. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2021.1985229.
Tanzania D, Mbelwa S. Mental disorders and associated factors among adolescents in juvenile detention, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Open J Nurs. 2017 Sep 9;7(9):993–1020. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2017.79073.
Atilola O, Ola B, Abiri G, et al. Status of mental-health services for adolescents with psychiatric morbidity in youth correctional institutions in Lagos. J Child Adol Ment Health. 2017 May 29; (1):63-83. doi: 10.2989/17280583.2017.1321550.
Yusuf AD, Ajiboye PO, Issa BA, Buhari OI. Prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric disorders among youths in a Borstal Institution in Nigeria. J Pak Psychiatr Soc. 2011;8(1):22.
Bryant A, Guy J, Holmes J, Astle D, Baker K, Gathercole S, et al. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire predicts concurrent mental health difficulties in a transdiagnostic sample of struggling learners. Front Psychol. 2020 Nov 12;11:587821. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.587821.
Vishwakarma G. Sample size and power calculation. In: Nursing Research in 21st Century. Darya Ganj, Delhi: CBS Publishers & Distributors 2017; pp. 1-21.
Aida SA, Aili HH, Manveen KS, Salwina WI, Subash KP, Ng CG, et al. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among juvenile offenders in Malaysian prisons and association with socio-demographic and personal factors. Int J Prison Health. 2014 Jun 10;10(2):132-43. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-06-2013-0029.
Gaete J, Labbé N, Del Villar P, Allende C, Araya R, Valenzuela E. Mental health and associated factors among young offenders in Chile: a cross‐sectional study. Crim Behav Ment Health. 2017 Apr 12;28(1):13-27. doi: 10.1002/cbm.2029.
Pourhoseingholi MA, Vahedi M, Rahimzadeh M. Sample size calculation in medical studies. Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2013 Winter;6(1):14-7. PMID: 24834239.
Gray JR, Grove SK, Sutherland S. Burns and Grove's the practice of nursing research: appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier; 2017.
Colarusso CA. Adolescence (ages 12–20). In: Colarusso CA, editor. Child and adult development: a psychoanalytic introduction for clinicians. Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer;1992; p. 91-105. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4757-9673-5_7.
Lyu SY, Chi YC, Farabee D, Tsai LT, Lee MB, Lo FE, et al. Psychological distress in an incarcerated juvenile population. J Formos Med Assoc. 2014 May 1;114(11):1076-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2014.03.011.
Dyer F, Gregory L. Mental health difficulties in the youth justice population: learning from the first six months of the IVY project. Proceedings of the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice; 2014; Glasgow, Scotland. Scotland: Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice; 2014. pp. 14.
Agustine EM, Sutini T, Mardhiyah A. [The screening of juvenile behaviour in incarcerated juvenile Class II]. Jurnal Keperawatan Komprehensif. 2018 Feb 12;40(1):32-40. Indonesian. doi: https://journal.stikep-ppnijabar.ac.id/index.php/jkk/article/view/96.
Olff M, Bakker A, Frewen P, Aakvaag H, Ajdukovic D, Brewer D, et al. Screening for consequences of trauma–an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020 Apr 27;11(1):1752504. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1752504.
Frewen P, McPhail I, Schnyder U, Oe M, Olff M. Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS): psychometric properties in two Internet-based studies. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021 Jun 25;12(1):1881725. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1881725.
Primasari I, Qing Y, Coimbra BM, Hovnanyan A, Grace E, Williamson RE, et al. Mental health responses to COVID-19 around the world. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021 Jun 30;12(1):1929754. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1929754.
Goodman A, Goodman R. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire as a dimensional measure of child mental health. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Apr;48(4):400-3. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181985068.
Matthew MA. [Analysis of the development of inmates with mental disorders in the implementation of the correctional inmates development program (case study in a class 1A correctional institution in Bandar Lampung]. Digital Repository Unila@Universitas Lampung. 2023 Mar. Indonesian. Available from: https://digilib.unila.ac.id/70271/.
Alabshar N, Giyarsih SR, Pitoyo AJ. Factors influencing the prosperity of migrants in Indonesia. Solid State Technology. 2020;63(3):4358-72.
Dhamayanti M, Peryoga SU, Firmansyah MR. Emotional mental problems among adolescents: urban and semi-urban settings. Althea Med J. 2018 June;5(2):77-81. doi: 10.15850/amj.v5n2.1416.
Keliat BA, Wiyono AP, Susanti H. Case management of mental disorders: CMHN (intermediate course). Jakarta: EGC; 2011. p. 35.
Icenogle G, Steinberg L, Duell N, Chein J, Chang L, Chaudhary N, et al. Adolescents' cognitive capacity reaches adult levels prior to their psychosocial maturity: evidence for a "maturity gap" in a multinational, cross-sectional sample. Law Hum Behav. 2019 Feb;43(1):69-85. doi: 10.1037/lhb0000315.
Dahmann SC. How does education improve cognitive skills? instructional time versus timing of instruction. Labour Econ. 2017;47:35-47. doi: 10.1016/j.labeco.2017.04.008.
Lovett A, Kwon HR, Kidia K, Machando D, Crooks M, Fricchione G, et al. Mental health of people detained within the justice system in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2019 May 6;13:31. doi: 10.1186/s13033-019-0273-z.
Scott MJ. CBT for common trauma responses. New York: Sage Publications Ltd; 2012.
Pessoa MD, Matsukura TS, Cid MF, Minatel MM. Young offenders in Brazil: mental health and factors of risk and protection. J Hum Growth Devel. 2015 Oct 20; 25(2):162-9. doi: 10.7322/JHGD.102999.
Bailen NH, Green LM, Thompson RJ. Understanding emotion in adolescents: a review of emotional frequency, intensity, instability, and clarity. Emotion Review. 2018 Aug 2;11(1):63-73. doi: 10.1177/1754073918768878.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).