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To systematically review and perform a meta-analysis of the research literature on the prevalence of mental disorders in adolescents in juvenile detention and correctional facilities.

Surveys of psychiatric morbidity based on interviews of unselected populations of detained children and adolescents were identified by computer-assisted searches, scanning of reference lists, hand-searching of journals, and correspondence with authors of relevant reports. The sex-specific prevalence of mental disorders (psychotic illness, major depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], and conduct disorder) together with potentially moderating study characteristics were abstracted from publications. Statistical analysis involved metaregression to identify possible causes of differences in disorder prevalence across surveys.

Twenty-five surveys involving 13,778 boys and 2,972 girls …