The prevalence of past year major depressive episodes (MDEs) is increasing for female juvenile offenders, highlighting a need for improved efforts to target these populations for prevention and treatment, a recent study found. Data were collected between 2005 and 2014 as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Participants included 171,118 youth aged 12–17 (159,449 non-offenders and 11,669 offenders). The primary variable of interest was self-reported past year MDE. Researchers found:

• The prevalence of MDEs among female youth increased for both offender and non-offender groups: from 24.4% to 33.0% for the offenders and from 12.4% to 16.7% for the non-offenders.
• No significant trend changes were observed among male youth.
• In both male and female juvenile offenders, MDEs were associated with increased risk of illicit drug use (males OR=1.61; females OR=1.83).
• Additional correlates include alcohol use among male offenders (OR = 1.36), and binge drinking in female offenders (OR=1.24).