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Introduction: Despite a decline in unintended teenage pregnancy in Australia, rates remain higher amongst justice-involved adolescent girls, who are more likely to be from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, have histories of abuse, substance use and/or mental health issues. Furthermore, exposure to the criminal justice system may alter access to education and employment and opportunities, potentially resulting in distinct risk-factor profiles. We examine factors associated with unintended pregnancy, non-contraceptive use and Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) in a sample of sexually active, justice-involved adolescent girls from Western Australia and Queensland. Methods: Data from the Mental Health, Sexual Health and Reproductive Health of Young People in Contact with the Criminal Justice System (MeH-JOSH) Study was analysed on 118 sexually active adolescent girls. Participants were aged between 14 and 17 years, purposefully sampled based on justice-system involvement and completed an anonymous telephone survey. We constructed two multivariate models taking reproductive outcomes as the dependent variables. Results: Over one quarter (26%, 30/118) reported a past unintended pregnancy, 54 did not use any contraception at their last sexual encounter, and 17 reported LARC use. Following adjustments in the multivariate analysis, lifetime ecstasy use was associated with both unintended pregnancy (aOR 3.795, p = 0.022) and non-contraception use (aOR 4.562, p = 0.004). A history of physical abuse was also associated with both any contraception (aOR 3.024, p = 0.041) and LARC use (aOR 4.892, p = 0.050). Identifying as Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander, education/employment status and geographic location appeared to have no association. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that justice-involved adolescent girls have distinct risk factors associated with unplanned pregnancy and contraception use compared to the general population, but more research is required to understand the mechanisms and contexts underlying these risk factors. How exposure to physical violence may encourage contraception and LARC use, in particular, warrants further attention as does the association with ecstasy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study investigated substance use and help‐seeking among justice‐involved young people to inform and improve service provision during and after contact with the justice system. Methods: Young people (14–17 years) in the community with current or prior contact with the justice system were recruited in Queensland and Western Australia, Australia using purposive sampling between 2016 and 2018. A cross‐sectional survey was delivered by computer‐assisted telephone interview. Information was collected on sociodemographic and health factors; lifetime and frequency of use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; and use of health services related to substance use and mental health. Results: Of the 465 justice‐involved young people surveyed, most had used alcohol (89%), tobacco (86%) or other drugs (81%). Of the latter, cannabis use was most prevalent (79%), followed by ecstasy (26%) and amphetamine (22%). Young people engaging in higher risk drug use (daily use, injecting use) were more likely to also have an alcohol use disorder, be disengaged from education, unemployed, have attempted suicide and experienced incarceration. Of the cohort, 24% had received treatment at an alcohol and drug service in the past year and 30% had seen a health professional about emotional/behavioural problems. Males and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people were less likely to have sought professional help. Conclusion: The high levels of substance use and disproportionate levels of help‐seeking observed in this study illustrate the importance of delivering tailored, comprehensive and coordinated trauma‐informed and culturally safe alcohol and drug services to justice‐involved young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]