Substance Use Disorders, Comorbidity, and Arrest among Indigenous Adolescents*

Authors

Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Les B. Whitbeck, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Patricia Prentice, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

12-2015

Citation

Crime Delinq. 2015 December ; 61(10): 1311–1332. doi:10.1177/0011128712466372.

Comments

Copyright 2015 the Authors. Used by permission.

Abstract

Indigenous adolescents are overrepresented at multiple stages of the justice system, but we know very little about the role that mental health, particularly substance use disorder, plays in Indigenous pathways to arrest. This study examined the association between substance use disorder, its comorbidity with other disorders, and arrest using a longitudinal sample of Indigenous youth from the Northern Midwest and Canada. Of the 16% of youth who reported at least one arrest at Wave 5, half met criteria for substance abuse/dependence, and slightly more for conduct disorder. Substance abuse/dependence and conduct disorder were each associated with an increased risk of arrest, although co-occurring disorders were not. The reciprocal effects of arrest and mental disorder are discussed.