Instructions

JUVENILE OFFENDER CASE STUDY: INITIAL ANALYSIS

Introduction

This is a two-part assignment. You will complete the first part, an initial case study analysis, this week and the second part, a final report based on the analysis, in Week 7.

Assume you have been assigned as the forensic evaluator for the juvenile offender Derek or Meredith and must develop a report for Derek or Meredith’s attorney. For this assignment, you will review the media Juvenile Offenders: Case Studies, choose which person will be the focus of your work, and identify Derek’s or Meredith’s mental disorder.

The DSM-5 provides descriptions of psychiatric conditions, including criteria for determining whether a condition exists and treatment recommendations as well as other details. For this initial analysis, you will view the conditions in the DSM-5 listed below and begin to formulate how both nature and nurture have contributed to Derek or Meredith’s criminal behavior.

Criminal behavior is rarely only the result of how we are raised or how we are wired neurologically but results from a combination of many risk factors. There is no wrong or right answer in terms of which of the disorder you choose. Your success will be determined by how well you apply the basic components of the disorder you choose.

Instructions

First, download and review the APA Paper Template [DOCX]. Use this document as a template for every paper you write in this course.

If you have not yet done so, choose a case (Derek or Meredith) from Juvenile Offenders: Case Studies as your focus for this assignment. Then access the DSM-5 and read about the following disorders:

• Bipolar and Related Disorders & Depressive Disorders.
• Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders.
  • For example, how might the use of drugs or alcohol exacerbate pathology that might be present, or how does it aid in poor choices and poor impulse control?
• Anxiety Disorders.
• Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders.
  • For example, does Derek or Meredith experience thought distortion or difficulty with reality testing?

Note: You may review Accessing the DSM-5 and the Mental Measurement Yearbook to understand how to access the DSM-5 in the Capella library.

After you have reviewed the information in the DSM-5, write and submit a 3–5 page paper in which you analyze the case study in terms of the psychology described in the DSM-5 and the disorder Derek or Meredith shows signs of having. Note: Choose only one of the disorders listed that you think is most closely related to the case you have chosen (Derek or Meredith).

Through your analysis of the case study and your reading in the DSM-5, describe how Derek or Meredith meets the criteria of the disorder you have chosen.

Remember, a disorder is based on time, duration, intensity, and the degree to which it interferes with everyday functioning (social, interpersonal, work, and patterns in relationships) and not just the observable behavior. Determine environmental factors (for example, parenting styles, rejection by loved ones, lack of limits, and so on) that impact their behavior (for example, bullying, lying, and drug use) as well as potential biological factors.

Answer the following questions in your paper:

• What disorder (choose only one) does Derek or Meredith show signs of having?
• What are the diagnostic criteria as outlined in the DSM-5 for that disorder?
• How does Derek or Meredith meet those criteria?
  • Remember to discuss how elements in the young person’s history contribute to this diagnosis.
  • Discuss how the immediate history of the offense might support the diagnosis.