We are excited to share early insights from our ongoing NCHATS-funded study, Trajectories of Juvenile Legal System Involvement and Engagement in Suicidal and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors. This project focuses on understanding how individuals with past juvenile legal system (JLS) involvement navigate experiences that shape their mental health – particularly suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs).
About the Study
Grounded in qualitative narrative interviews and comprehensive quantitative surveys, our study aims to document the developmental pathways that connect justice involvement, adversity, mental health and suicide risk among ethnoracially diverse young adults. In addition to the main study, a quantitative substudy was launched to deepen our understanding of patterns emerging in the study data alone. Below, we highlight early quantitative results from our substudy.
What We Are Learning: Early Results at a Glance
Our sample (n = 81) was predominantly identified as Hispanic/Latino (63%) and male (53.1%). 70% of participants reported receiving government assistance and 45.7% reported being first or second-generation immigrants. Participants reported exceptionally high exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Emotional neglect and emotional abuse are among the most commonly endorsed experiences – each reported by nearly 89% of participants. Rates of exposure to violence, parental mental illness or substance use, and family separation are also strikingly high.
Rates of SITBs in this sample are alarmingly elevated with 72.% reporting that they have experiences suicidal thoughts, 38.3% have made a suicide plan, 37% have attempted suicide, and 35.8% have engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., cutting, burning, picking the skin). These numbers underscore the urgent need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions tailored to system-impacted youth.
Why These Findings Matter
These preliminary results illuminate the extensive adversity, instability, and unmet mental health needs faced by young adults impacted by the juvenile legal system. By pairing these quantitative insights with life-history interviews and visual timelines, our team aims to better understand how early experiences shape pathways of risk – and resilience – over time.
This work will directly inform future interventions, policy recommendations and clinical practices designed to more effectively support system-impacted youth and reduce suicide risk in marginalized communities.
More findings will be shared as data collection and analyses continue.
Lastly, we would like to give a special thanks to our HEART Lab members, Rosaline Qi and Maryam Abdallah, for working so hard on this beautiful infographic for the NCHATS Study.
Rosaline Qi Maryam Abdallah