Faculty Collaboration Database

Arrests Among High-Risk Youth Following Emergency Department Treatment for an Assault Injury. Am J Prev Med 2018 Dec;55(6):812-821

Date

10/23/2018

Pubmed ID

30344036

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6246796

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2018.07.003

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85055032646 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   16 Citations

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Violence is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for youth, with more than 600,000 emergency department visits annually for assault-related injuries. Risk for criminal justice involvement among this population is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize arrests among high-risk, assault-injured, drug-using youth following emergency department treatment.

METHODS: Youth (aged 18-24 years) with past 6-month drug use who were seeking emergency department treatment for either an assault or for non-violence reasons were enrolled (December 2009-September 2011) in a 2-year longitudinal study. Arrests in the 24 months following the emergency department visit were analyzed in 2016-2017 using survival analysis of objective Law Enforcement Information Network data. Hazard ratios quantifying the association between risk factors for arrest were estimated using Cox regression.

RESULTS: In the longitudinal cohort, 511 youth seeking emergency department care (assault injury group n=299, comparison group n=212) were aged ≥18 years and were included for analysis. Youth in the assault injury group cohort had a 47% higher risk of arrest than the comparison group (38.1% vs 25.9%, RR=1.47, p<0.05). In unadjusted analyses, male sex, assault injury, binge drinking, drug use disorder, and community violence exposure were all associated with increased risk of arrest during the follow-up period. Cox regression identified that male sex (hazard ratio=2.57), drug use disorder diagnosis (hazard ratio=1.42), assault injury at baseline (hazard ratio=1.63), and community violence exposure (hazard ratio=1.35) increased risk for arrest.

CONCLUSIONS: Drug-using assault-injured youth have high rates of arrest. Emergency department and community interventions addressing substance use and violence involvement may aid in decreasing negative violence and criminal justice outcomes among high-risk youth.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01152970.

Author List

Carter PM, Dora-Laskey AD, Goldstick JE, Heinze JE, Walton MA, Zimmerman MA, Roche JS, Cunningham RM

Author

Aaron Dora-Laskey MD Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Crime
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Humans
Law Enforcement
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Risk Factors
Substance-Related Disorders
Violence
Wounds and Injuries
Young Adult