Abstract
Purpose: This study examines the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children and adolescents who were followed up in the child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic under court-ordered health measure.Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional and retrospective analysis of 287 cases under court-ordered health measure. The analyzed data encompass sociodemographic characteristics, information related to parents, reasons for health precaution decisions, psychiatric diagnoses, and adherence to follow-up and treatment.Results: The sample comprised 287 participants, with a mean age of 13.08 ± 4.15 years; 53.7% were female (n=154), and 46.3% were male (n=133). Adolescents constituted 64.8% (n=186) of the sample, while children comprised 35.2% (n=101). The most common reason for implementing health precautionary measures was neglect, accounting for 25.1% (n=72) of cases, followed by risky behaviors at 19.5% (n=56) and sexual abuse at 18.1% (n=52). Over half of the participants (56.8%, n=163) received at least one psychiatric diagnosis, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (23.3%, n=67) being the most frequent, followed by conduct disorder (13.9%, n=40) and major depressive disorder (13.6%, n=39).Conclusion: Our findings reveal that court-ordered health measures are frequently based on critical protection concerns such as neglect, risky behaviors, and sexual abuse, with age and gender playing a decisive role in the decision-making process. These results highlight the need for multidimensional, interdisciplinary approaches to improve the well-being of children and adolescents. Strengthening the coordination and quality of existing follow-up mechanisms and developing targeted early-intervention programs may enhance the effectiveness of these protective processes.