The role of hopelessness and procedural justice on depressogenic outcomes in serious adolescent offenders

Despite increasing rates of depression and suicide in justice-involved youth, little is known on the salience of depressogenic risk factors within this population. In response, we explore how levels and changes in hopelessness and procedural justice predicted prospective depressive and suicidal outcomes in justice-involved youth. We hypothesized that higher levels and increasing trajectories of hopelessness, as well as perceived injustice, would predict depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation across adolescence and emerging adulthood. We also expected procedural injustice would explain the relation between hopelessness and these outcomes. Finally, we hypothesized the influence of hopelessness and perceived injustice would be moderated by gender and race/ethnicity. Data for the present study was collected as part of the Pathways to Desistance study. In total, 1,354 adolescents (AgeM=16.04 years; 86.4% male; 41.4% non-Hispanic Black, 33.5% Hispanic, 20.2% non-Hispanic White) adjudicated for serious offenses participated. For the present study, respondents answered questions on measures of procedural justice, hopelessness, depression, and suicidal ideation across 11 time points over 7 years. Using latent growth curve modeling, we found partial support for our hypotheses. Baseline levels and adolescent trajectories of hopelessness predicted depression levels at the end of the study, while changes in adolescence and emerging adulthood hopelessness predicted respective increasing depression symptoms. Levels of procedural justice predicted finals levels of depression. Changes in procedural justice during emerging adulthood predicted changes in depression during the same period. Levels of hopelessness predicted levels of suicidal ideation, but neither levels nor increases of hopelessness predicted trajectories of suicidal ideation. For procedural justice, none of the predictors forecasted levels nor trajectories of suicidal ideation. We did not find that significant differences existed across gender nor race/ethnicity. Hopelessness and perceived injustice reflect unique predictors of depression for those involved in the juvenile justice system. These cognitive pathways should be targeted by emerging emotional well-being preventive interventions within the juvenile justice system.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Stutts, Morgan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cohen, Joseph
• Todd, Nathan

• Procedural Justice
• Hopelessness
• Longitudinal
• Developmental Psychopathology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Morgan Stutts

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115628

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115628