Authors : Peter O. Ajiboye , Abdullah D. Yussuf , Baba A. Issa , Olusola A. Adegunloye and Olubunmi N. Buhari
Abstract: Chronic and violent juvenile offending has been associated with adverse health, educational, vocational and interpersonal consequences with repercussion seen into adulthood. Youths with mental disorders pose a challenge for the juvenile system and after their release for the larger mental health system. This study investigated current and lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in a Borstal home in Nigeria. The study is a cross-sectional, descriptive one and reports exclusively on the 53 youths, aged 14-21 years, remanded at the Juvenile Borstal Institution in Ilorin, the Kwara state Capital. The inmates were interviewed using MINI-KID. The mean age±SD of the inmates was 17.3±2.1 years. Majority of them (52.8%) were between 18-21 years of age. Current psychiatric diagnoses were made in 67.6% of them and lifetime diagnoses made in 64.2% of the inmates. Recommendation is made for early detection and treatment of these psychiatric disorders.
Peter O. Ajiboye , Abdullah D. Yussuf , Baba A. Issa , Olusola A. Adegunloye and Olubunmi N. Buhari , 2009. Current and Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in a Juvenile Borstal Institution in Nigeria. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 3: 26-30.