Diagnostic Changes to DSM-5: The Potential Impact on Juvenile Justice

Abstract

Legal decision-makers have discretion at every stage of processing in the juvenile justice system, and individual youth characteristics (e.g., a particular psychiatric diagnosis) influence how a youth progresses through the system. As a result, changes in diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) may affect the rates of diagnoses among justice-involved youths and subsequently influence youths' experiences within the justice system. In this article, we identify the diagnoses most likely to exert such influences and review the prevalence of diagnosis and psychiatric disorder symptomatology in justice-involved youths. We highlight the DSM-5 changes in diagnostic criteria for internalizing and externalizing disorders that commonly occur among justice-involved youths and the potential impact of these changes on the rates of diagnoses within this population. Finally, we address the limitations of using psychiatric diagnoses in juvenile justice decision making, including the potential for biasing legal decision-makers and the importance of considering context as part of diagnosis.