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Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency
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Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2025) | Viewed by 4740

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Adam Schmidt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Interests: child psychology; forensic psychology; neuroscience and neuropsychology; positive child / youth development; resilience; adverse childhood experiences; brain and cognitive development; developmental psychopathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. April G. Thomas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Interests: juvenile justice; trajectory of delinquency; child development; recidivism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will bring together empirical investigations, review articles, and commentaries that address issues of health (in a very broad sense) in juvenile delinquency. The focus of the Special Issue will be on the implications of delinquent behavior on health, development, and well-being, but papers do not need to be specific to youth involved with the juvenile justice system. Relevant topics relevant include, but are not limited to, youth substance use and abuse; health consequences of youth-perpetrated violence and violence exposure; social determinants of health in youth at risk for delinquency; health and delinquency implications of bullying and victimization in children and adolescents; the impacts of trauma and child adversity on delinquency and health outcomes; resilience, prosocial development, and psychosocial and biological protective factors; animal models of aggression and impulsivity with implications for health outcomes; genetic investigations of mental and physical health outcomes within populations at risk for justice-system involvement; brain correlates shared between health risk behaviors and delinquency; physical and mental health outcomes in delinquent or justice-involved youth; trans-diagnostic factors in psychopathology in youth at risk for delinquency; and shared correlates of delinquency and health disparities.

Dr. Adam Schmidt
Dr. April G. Thomas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • justice-involved youth
  • juvenile delinquency
  • juvenile justice
  • resilience
  • health disparities
  • chronic health conditions
  • protective factors
  • developmental psychopathology
  • developmental neuroscience
  • child psychology
  • forensic psychology
  • developmental mechanisms

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 293 KB  
Article
Predictors of Teenage Fatherhood Among Justice-Involved Adolescents
by Naomi McGoldrick, Colleen Sbeglia, Lauren Wyckoff, Paul J. Frick, Laurence Steinberg and Elizabeth Cauffman
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(12), 1801; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22121801 - 28 Nov 2025
Viewed by 470
Abstract
Justice-involved boys are more likely to become teenage fathers than their community peers. This is linked to numerous negative outcomes, including increased delinquent behavior. To help legal practitioners better identify which boys are at risk of becoming a teen parent, this study identifies [...] Read more.
Justice-involved boys are more likely to become teenage fathers than their community peers. This is linked to numerous negative outcomes, including increased delinquent behavior. To help legal practitioners better identify which boys are at risk of becoming a teen parent, this study identifies factors at the time of boys’ very first arrest that prospectively predict their odds of becoming a teen father. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of 1216 adolescent boys at the time of their first arrest. Binary logistic regression models were used to predict the odds of becoming a teen father across three domains: individual factors, social and contextual factors, and risky behaviors. Approximately 15% of the total sample (n = 171) reported becoming a teen father after their first arrest. At the time of first arrest, poorer neighborhood conditions, increased peer delinquency, substance use, and self-reported offending history increased the odds that boys would become a teen father. Additional models indicated that substance use was the strongest driver of teen fatherhood. However, all factors failed to reached significance once condom use was included in this model. Practical implications for policymakers are discussed, along with suggestions for interventions to reduce teen pregnancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency)
14 pages, 607 KB  
Article
Acculturation Gap Conflict and Self-Control Mediate the Association Between Negative Affect and Sleep Problems for Hispanic/Latino(a) Adolescents
by Manuel J. Bruzos, Benjelene D. Sutherland, Matthew T. Sutherland and Elisa M. Trucco
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(11), 1722; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111722 - 14 Nov 2025
Viewed by 611
Abstract
Background: Adolescent sleep problems are a public health concern, as roughly 60–70% of U.S. teens obtain less sleep than is recommended. Negative affect is a risk factor for adolescent sleep problems. However, factors explaining this association, to our knowledge, have not been explored [...] Read more.
Background: Adolescent sleep problems are a public health concern, as roughly 60–70% of U.S. teens obtain less sleep than is recommended. Negative affect is a risk factor for adolescent sleep problems. However, factors explaining this association, to our knowledge, have not been explored in Hispanic/Latino(a) (H/L) adolescents. Acculturation gap conflict and low self-control may act as mediators linking negative affect to sleep problems. Methods: A sample of 223 H/L adolescents was assessed at three time points. We hypothesized that acculturation gap conflict and low self-control assessed at Wave 2 would mediate the association between negative affect at Wave 1 and sleep problems at Wave 3. Results: Negative affect predicted higher acculturation gap conflict, which in turn was associated with less self-control, and less self-control then predicted more sleep problems. Conclusions: These findings highlight acculturation gap conflict and low self-control as processes through which negative affect can impact later sleep problems in H/L adolescents. Elucidating modifiable factors impacting sleep health among H/L youth may inform intervention strategies. Targeting affect regulation, as well as improving parent-adolescent relationship quality within the context of acculturative differences, may help reduce sleep problems among this demographic group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency)
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17 pages, 743 KB  
Article
Trauma Exposure as a “Driver” of Change in Mental Health Problems Among Youth with Multiple Admissions to Juvenile Detention
by Patricia K. Kerig, Jeremiah W. Jaggers and Ava R. Alexander
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(11), 1710; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111710 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 783
Abstract
Although trauma exposure (TE) has been shown to be a robust predictor of youth involvement in the juvenile justice system, evidence regarding the role of TE amongst youth who recidivate has been more mixed. Recidivist youth are a population of particular concern, given [...] Read more.
Although trauma exposure (TE) has been shown to be a robust predictor of youth involvement in the juvenile justice system, evidence regarding the role of TE amongst youth who recidivate has been more mixed. Recidivist youth are a population of particular concern, given evidence of declining mental health and diminished likelihood of returning to an adaptive developmental course. One way in which TE may contribute to these negative outcomes over time is through potentiating or “driving” mental health problems, which are especially prevalent among trauma-exposed youth in the justice system. To examine this hypothesis, longitudinal data were obtained over a 10-year period from a sample of 5615 juvenile justice-involved youth (1499 girls and 4116 boys) who completed a mental health screening at each admission to detention. Results of analyses assessing the associations among trauma exposure, linear and quadratic time, and mental health problems were consistent with the hypothesis that increases in TE were associated with increasing anger/irritability, depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, and suicidal ideation across repeat admissions. With the exception of alcohol/drug use, all mental health outcomes followed a quadratic trajectory over the course of multiple admissions. Rates of mental health problems were consistently highest for girls and White youth across all waves. These results add to our understanding of the role of trauma in mental health problems among persistent offenders and may help to inform interventions designed to reduce youth contact with the potentially iatrogenic effects of justice system involvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency)
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11 pages, 590 KB  
Article
Reimagining the Juvenile Justice System Through the Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences Framework
by Amanda Winn, Kelsey Hannan, Robert Sege and Dina Burstein
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(5), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22050782 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 1527
Abstract
Numerous research studies have documented the significant influence of key types of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on adult health and wellbeing, even in the presence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Recent studies reveal that almost 87% of justice-impacted youth reported at least one [...] Read more.
Numerous research studies have documented the significant influence of key types of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on adult health and wellbeing, even in the presence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Recent studies reveal that almost 87% of justice-impacted youth reported at least one ACE. Connecting youth to PCEs after trauma has occurred has been shown to disrupt the poor health trajectory associated with ACEs. Creating juvenile justice systems that prioritize equitable access to PCEs has the potential to change the life course of system-impacted youth. The HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) framework, a research-based, community-driven approach to improving access to the key types of PCEs youth need to thrive, presents a potentially powerful strategy for juvenile justice systems to transform care for system-impacted youth. This manuscript describes this proposed approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Health Risks and Protective Factors in Youth Delinquency)
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