Exploring mental health profiles of male youth detained in forensic settings: Implications for research and clinical practice

Youth detained in forensic settings display a high prevalence rate of mental health disorders, mostly Conduct Disorder (CD), usually in comorbidity with other psychopathologies. However, few studies explored whether there are different mental health profiles of these youth. This exploratory study aims to answer two research questions: What mental health profiles exist in youth detained in forensic settings? What are the underlying patterns across and within profiles? A Latent Profile Analysis based on the number of CD criteria and number of comorbid disorders was performed in a sample of 119 male youth detained in Portuguese juvenile detention facilities. Significant mean differences on variables of interest (e.g., sociodemographic/legal/criminal/clinical) across profiles were also tested. Results found two profiles, a severe mentally disturbed profile (moderate/severe type of CD and moderate comorbidity rates) and a highly severe mentally disturbed profile (severe type of CD and high comorbidity rates), which also differ on variables of interest. Findings shed light on the potential heterogeneity of these youth considering their mental health patterns, giving also clues on complexities across and within profiles. This study reinforces the need for accurate assessments and personalized treatment approaches for the specific intervention needs of these youth.