Mental Health in the Attention Models for Juvenile Offenders. The Cases of Colombia, Argentina, United States and Canada

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To investigate how mental health is understood and approached in the attention models of detention centers for the convicted underage population in Argentina, Colombia, United States and Canada. Methodology: A literature search was conducted using the following key words: adolescence, mental health, juvenile justice, juvenile delinquency, risk factors, and interventions. Searches were done through the search engine Pubmed. Additionally, public institution websites for each country were consulted. Conclusions: Juvenile delinquency is now understood as a multi-factorial phenomenon with multiple areas of intervention within which economic, domestic and social factors are considered relevant, since these favor the development of criminal behavior. A similarity was found between Colombian and Argentinian systems; both are based on restorative justice that seeks reparation and not punishment; which is why there are no punitive measures. When comparing Canada and the United States, it can be seen that Canada is more similar to Latin-American countries than to the United States, given that the latter uses punitive measures focused on the offender.