MAYSI~2 Statewide Screening California

Over 70% of the youths in the juvenile justice system admitted to using alcohol and drugs at the same time, over 65% admitted to being drunk or high at school, and nearly 55% admitted to being so drunk or high that they could not remember what happened. Only 15% of mainstream high school youth who were also screened reported mixing alcohol and drugs, only 15% reported being intoxicated at school, and only 20% reported not remembering events that occurred when intoxicated.

Between January 16 and February 13, 2006, a total of 2,989 youth at 56 sites across nine California counties were screened using the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument  - Version 2 (MAYSI~2). The MAYSI~2 is a screening instrument designed to assist juvenile justice facilities in identifying youths 12-17 years old who may have alcohol/drug problems or other mental health issues (e.g., depression, thought disturbance, etc.) in the past few months.

Results of the statewide screening indicate that youths involved with the juvenile justice system, or at risk for involvement with it, reported high rates of alcohol/drug use as well as other mental health symptoms compared to youths in mainstream schools. The detained youth in this screening reported much higher rates of substance use and psychological disturbance than did comparable youth in previous research.