Impact
RTI research shows how contact with the criminal legal system shapes health, safety, and well-being for adolescents
Objective
To understand how legal system involvement in youth, especially incarceration in adult facilities before age 18, affects health, safety, and well-being throughout adulthood.
Approach
RTI researchers conducted a series of studies using national longitudinal data to examine the long-term outcomes associated with arrest, juvenile incarceration, and incarceration in adult correctional facilities before age 18.
Impact
RTI's research demonstrates that juvenile legal system involvement is associated with lasting health, safety, and social consequences, with the most severe outcomes observed among youth incarcerated in adult facilities. The findings provide evidence to support policies and practices that reduce preventable harm and support healthier outcomes for justice system-involved youth.
Adolescence is a critical period of development that can shape long-term health, relationships, safety, and opportunity. Positive experiences during this stage can support healthier life-course outcomes, while negative experiences can contribute to compounding difficulties over time. When young people are convicted of a crime and become involved in the criminal legal system, those experiences can have consequences that extend far beyond the immediate legal outcome, especially when more serious criminal behaviors result in placement in facilities designed for adults.
RTI researchers conducted a series of studies to better understand how legal system involvement before age 18, including incarceration in adult correctional facilities, influences health, safety, and well-being throughout adulthood.
Long-term impact of juvenile legal system involvement
Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, RTI examined the long-term impacts of various forms of juvenile legal system involvement, including arrest, placement in juvenile facilities, and incarceration in adult correctional facilities.
The research explored how these experiences influence:
- Adult health insurance coverage
- Access to routine health care
- Physical and mental functionality
- Exposure to violent victimization
- Adolescent childrearing
- Premature mortality
Understanding these impacts can help policymakers, service providers, and communities make informed decisions about how young people are treated within the justice system.
Incarcerated youth in adult facilities experience high rates of adverse outcomes
Across the studies, RTI found that youth who experienced legal system involvement often faced significant disadvantages later in life. Adults who were incarcerated as youth had fewer years of health insurance coverage and routine medical care, greater reliance on Medicaid, and more time without employer-sponsored or private health insurance. Reduced access to health care also contributed to greater physical and psychological limitations in adulthood.
Many factors, such as state mandates and serious offenses, often influence whether a young person is convicted through an adult criminal court system, resulting in placement in an adult prison. RTI’s research suggests that placement in adult correctional facilities may be particularly harmful for adolescents. Compared with youth who had no legal system involvement, those incarcerated in adult facilities experienced some of the most severe long-term outcomes, including increased risk of violent victimization, greater functional limitations, and a 33% higher risk of death between ages 18 and 39. These disparities remain even when comparing juveniles placed in adult facilities to those with other forms of juvenile system contact (e.g., arrest, detention in a juvenile facility). Research also found that incarceration in adult facilities during adolescence was associated with a greater likelihood of childrearing during the teenage years.
Why adult facilities can be harmful for incarcerated youth
Because adult correctional facilities are not designed for adolescents, youth housed in these settings may have fewer opportunities to access developmentally appropriate education, behavioral health services, family support, and other resources that are commonly available in juvenile facilities. They may also face increased exposure to violence, neglect, and other traumatic experiences during a formative stage of development.
Supporting healthier futures for justice system-involved youth
RTI's research highlights the interconnected relationship between youth justice and public health. The findings point to opportunities for reducing preventable harm by limiting youth placement in adult correctional facilities, strengthening continuity of health care during reentry, expanding access to insurance coverage, and increasing the use of trauma-informed services. By providing evidence on the long-term consequences of juvenile legal system involvement, RTI helps inform policies and practices that support healthier outcomes for youth, families, and communities.
Learn more about RTI’s work in justice research and policy.
