Social justice in medicalization of
juvenile delinquency
R.F. Gillet
i6316485
PhiA 2.4 The moral compass of contemporary health researchers and professionals
Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life sciences (FHML)
Maastricht University
, Introduction
Young individuals who engage in delinquent behavior often find themselves entangled within
the framework of judicial youth care systems. For instance, the Dutch Youth Institute advises
parents to contact their GP or the local youth health care center when children are
experiencing behavioral problems (Dutch Youth Institute, n.d.). Notably, conduct disorder, a
disorder characterized by severe antisocial and aggressive behavior (Fairchild et al., 2019),
emerges as a prevalent reason for referrals to mental health services, as highlighted by Zhou et
al. (2022).
Within these judicial youth care systems, the multifaceted challenges faced by youths are
frequently reframed through a medical lens, prioritizing the diagnosis and treatment of
behavioral problems and mental health issues. Conditions such as conduct disorder are
frequently identified and targeted within this medicalized paradigm. Kraus (2016) underscores
this trend, indicating that a significant proportion of detained youth receive mental health
diagnoses, informing subsequent interventions. Dick Schwaab (2010) also confirms this by
saying 90% of the detained youths in the Netherlands have a psychiatric disorder.
One noteworthy approach to diagnosis and treatment involves the utilization of biomarkers,
which serve as indicators of measurable biological processes (De Jesus et al., 2023).
Biomarkers can be used to diagnose, treat, predict and potentially prevent psychiatric
disorders (Glannon, 2022). An example of this is the differences found in brain scans between
the brain of young men with and without antisocial behavior. Sample (2016) describes how
researchers want to use these scans to predict who will develop behavioral problems. This
integration of biomarkers underscores the medicalization of behavioral problems within the
youth justice system.
Looking at the use of biomarkers such as brain scans to prevent juvenile delinquencies, a
moral dilemma becomes visible. Youths have the moral rights to autonomy and fair treatment
for their individual problems. These rights imply duties of the government to provide
adequate support and resources. However, the government also has a duty to protect society
against crime. One way to do this is to prevent crime by early detection of possible risk
factors such as psychopathology, for example conduct disorder or antisocial behavior.
