Study: Delinquent Youth, Especially Hispanics, Face Higher Risk of Violent Death as Adults

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Delinquent youth face a significantly increased risk for a violent death when they’re adults, a new study finds, HealthDay reports.

This finding is especially true for delinquent Hispanics, teens, and girls.

The study, published online in the journal Pediatrics, found that the rate of violent death among delinquent Hispanic females and males were nine and five times higher, respectively, than in the general population.

“Our findings are shocking,” study author Linda Teplin, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, said in a university news release, HealthDay reports. “Death rates in our sample of delinquent youth, ages 15 to 19, are nearly twice those of troops in combat in wartime Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“Early violent death is a health disparity,” Teplin added. “Youth who get detained are disproportionately poor and disproportionately racial and ethnic minorities. We must address early violent death the same as any other health disparity.”