Psychiatric Disorders in Iraqi Juvenile Delinquents during Sanction Period

Ali Abdurrahman Younis

Al Ain General Hospital, United Arab Emirates

Wasam Ibrahim Al-Admawi

Royal Oman Police Hospital, Muscat, Oman

Saeed Yousef, Hamdy Fouad Moselhy

Faculty of Medicine and health Sciences, UAE University, United Arab Emirates

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a sample of delinquent adolescents in an Iraqi pre-trial detention during sanctions period. Participants were recruited from outpatient attendees at a psychiatric service in Babylon, Iraq, between July 2001 and September 2001. Delinquent adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, with a history of index offence, who were referred by the juvenile court for psychiatric evaluation, were included in the study. Inclusion criteria comprised of a sample size of 100, all consecutive clinic attendees, with their guardian agreement to participate. Psychiatric disorders were high in delinquent Iraqi adolescents during the sanction period; the levels were less compared to other societies without community-level trauma. Further research in other countries is needed to replicate our results with respect to socio-cultural influences.

Keyword:

Delinquents; Iraq; Community; Psychiatric Disorders.