Victimization and Mental Health Among Youth With and Without Disabilities: Results From a State-Wide Sample of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

Youth with disabilities experience disproportionately high levels of victimization, yet little is known about whether victimization and resilience factors shape mental health outcomes differently for justice‑involved youth with and without disabilities. Drawing on ten years of case‑level data (2009–2019) from a statewide juvenile justice system, this study examined patterns of victimization and resilience among justice-involved youth without disabilities and those with learning, behavioral, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD), and multiple disabilities. Findings revealed that youth with disabilities faced substantially higher rates of physical and sexual victimization compared to their peers, and the mental health impact of these experiences varied meaningfully by disability status. While resilience factors generally buffered youth from adverse mental health outcomes, their protective effects were not identical across youth with and without disabilities. These results underscore the need for juvenile justice policies and practices that recognize the heightened vulnerability of youth with disabilities and address the distinct ways victimization and resilience factors influence their mental health.