Psychiatric Disorders among Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

The aim of current study was to explore the prevalence of psychological disorders among juvenile offenders in central jails of Gujrat, Gujranwala and Sialkot district of Punjab, Pakistan. By using cross-sectional study design, 125 juvenile offenders which comprised of whole population selected from targeted jails through census sampling technique. It was conducted in two phases. In the first phase the demographic and screening questionnaire were administered on all the participants. In the second phase, therelevant diagnostic questionnaires were administered on vulnerable cases for targeted psychological disorders screened at first phase. Results revealed that the prevalence of targeted psychological disorders (major depression & anxiety disorders) was 29% among juvenile offenders in targeted cities. There were 53% juveniles who had moderate level of psychological disorders following the severe (28%) and mild level (19%) of psychological disorders among total diagnosed juveniles. It is concluded that there was high prevalence of psychological disorders among juvenile offenders.