Does mental health affect juvenile delinquents? Mental health does affect juvenile delinquents especially if it goes untreated. Seventy percent of the youth that are incarcerated has some kind of mental illness. Most often times they enter a facility that doesn’t give them enough treatment and once they’re released the treatment never continues and they revert back into old patterns (Skowyra, Cocozza, Blueprint for Change, 2006). In the justice system there are between thirty and fifty percent of the juveniles that have a behavioral disorder such ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) (National Mental Health Association, Prevalence of Mental Disorders…, 2006). Most times a juvenile who has a substance abuse or dependency can also be
