Incarceration and Subsequent Psychosocial Outcomes: A 16-Year Longitudinal Study of Youth After Detention

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the dose of incarceration and subsequent psychiatric and psychosocial functioning in justice-involved youth 16 years after detention (median age 32).

Method: Participants were from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a prospective, longitudinal study of 1,829 youths randomly sampled at intake from the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center from 1995 to 1998, stratified by sex, race and ethnicity, age, and legal status (processed as juvenile or adult). The study measured incarceration dose as the depth of involvement, ie, the type of facility where youth were incarcerated as they aged (juvenile-only, adult jail [but not prison], or prison), and total number of days incarcerated. Psychosocial outcomes were positive mental health, no problematic substance use, educational attainment, gainful activity, residential independence, interpersonal functioning, parenting responsibility, and desistance from criminal activity. Regression models comparing outcomes by facility type were propensity weighted.

Results: Male participants in the prison group achieved fewer psychosocial outcomes (3.3; 95% CI 3.1-3.5) vs participants in the jail (4.8; 95% CI 4.2-5.4) and juvenile-only (5.2; 95% CI 4.3-6.0) groups. Participants incarcerated only in juvenile detention were more likely to achieve every socioeconomic outcome than participants who had been in prison. More time incarcerated was associated with poorer outcomes for male and female participants; findings varied by facility type. Among male participants in prison, each additional year incarcerated reduced the odds of positive mental health.

Conclusion: Higher doses of incarceration were adversely associated with psychiatric and psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Black and Hispanic men are disproportionately incarcerated and thus disproportionately affected. Community mental health service providers are in a unique position to collaborate with correctional facilities to provide early interventions and services for successful reentry to the community.

Plain language summary: The authors utilized data from 1,829 participants in the Northwestern Juvenile Project and examined how the duration and nature of incarceration during adolescence and young adulthood affected outcomes at age 32. Individuals who had been incarcerated in prison experienced poorer outcomes across multiple domains, including mental health, education, employment, housing stability, and interpersonal relationships, compared with those detained only in juvenile facilities or jails. Longer time in prison was linked to poorer outcomes overall. These findings underscore the importance of early intervention and community mental health support to help justice-involved youth reintegrate successfully into society.

Keywords: disparities; incarceration; juvenile justice; mental health.