Yale University School of Medicine.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2012 Jan;82(1):32-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01138.x.
Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) is a pervasive problem throughout the juvenile justice system. This article explored whether mental illness may be an explanatory factor in DMC. Data such as measures of violence risk and symptoms of mental illness were taken from intake interviews with 482 detained youth in Connecticut. Results indicated that racial minorities in detention have significantly lower violence risk than Caucasians but are disproportionately represented among detention populations relative to their proportions in the general population. In addition, DMC in these data was not explained by mental illness, seriousness of charges, violence risk, age, or gender. We suggest that mandated efforts to reduce DMC will need to address more than improving behavior or reducing symptoms of mental illness among detained minority youth. Instead, efforts should be focused on reducing the racial disparity evident in decisions made within the juvenile justice system.
不成比例的少数族裔接触（DMC）是整个青少年司法系统中普遍存在的问题。本文探讨了精神疾病是否是 DMC 的一个解释因素。康涅狄格州 482 名被拘留的青少年在入所面谈中采集了诸如暴力风险评估和精神疾病症状等数据。结果表明，被拘留的少数族裔的暴力风险明显低于白人，但与他们在总人口中的比例相比，他们在被拘留人群中的比例不成比例。此外，这些数据中的 DMC 不能用精神疾病、指控的严重程度、暴力风险、年龄或性别来解释。我们认为，减少 DMC 的强制性努力需要解决的问题不仅仅是改善被拘留的少数族裔青少年的行为或减少他们的精神疾病症状。相反，应该集中精力减少在青少年司法系统中作出的决策中明显存在的种族差异。
