Addressing Trauma and Psychosocial Development in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: A Synthesis of the Developmental Neuroscience, Juvenile Justice and Trauma Literature

Examining the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Juvenile Recidivism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

While the impact of trauma on delinquency and offending has been studied in great depth, less is known about the cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences and how these experiences impact recidivism or reoffending outcomes of youth who already have justice system involvement. The main aim of this paper is to report on the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and juvenile recidivism. Of particular interest, the paper examines to what extent, if any, ACEs can be used to predict youth reoffending outcomes, as well as investigates the nature of this relationship. The study utilizes quantitative metanalytical techniques to estimate the overall impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on youth reoffending. Sixteen studies were selected after a comprehensive search of electronic databases covering the fields of social science, criminology, psychology, or related fields. Key findings demonstrate that Adverse Childhood Experiences increase the risk of youth recidivism, with effects varying amongst sample sizes. Narrative synthesis also shows key gender, racial, and ethnic differences as well as potential mechanisms in the cumulative trauma-reoffending relationship. These findings can further guide research and policy in the areas of trauma, juvenile justice, and crime prevention.

The Influence of Occupational Therapy on Self-Regulation in Juvenile Offenders

 Previous studies have shown that experiences of childhood trauma disproportionally impact incarcerated youth and may decrease self-regulation skills including identification of emotions and ability to control behaviors. Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate changes in emotional state identified by incarcerated youth after receiving sensory-based occupational therapy treatment. Methods: A quasi-experimental retrospective chart review design was used in addition to surveys. Results: Participants had an average ACE score of 5.91 traumatic experiences and at least three mental health diagnoses. Results showed a statistically significant change between pre-and post-session emotions via a Likert scale as well as a decrease in the frequency of negative words used to identify emotions. When surveyed, participants reported a calmer body state after occupational therapy and highlighted the importance of learning coping strategies. Conclusion: Results suggest that sensory-based occupational therapy may be an effective, trauma-informed intervention to improve self-regulation and support daily function of these incarcerated youth.

Understanding the relations among adverse childhood experiences (ACE), substance use, and reoffending among detained youth

BACKGROUND

System-involved youth experience elevated rates of exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE), which is related to reentry in the criminal legal system and increased risk of using substances, but there is little research on the indirect role of substance use in the relation between adversity and offending in youth offenders. Notably, the majority of youth report exposure to multiple adverse events and these experiences vary by gender.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to expand upon current literature by evaluating gender differences in the relations among cumulative ACEs, substance use severity, and reoffending in a sample of rural detained youth (N = 417).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Using Poisson (count) regression analyses, cumulative adversity significantly predicted reoffending among girls and boys. Additionally, there was a significant indirect effect of ACEs on reoffending via substance use. Girls reported higher exposure to adversity and substance use, and gender significantly interacted with ACEs to predict substance use and reoffending.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate the importance of cumulative experiences of adversity in childhood and substance use as predictors of youth reentry into the criminal legal system. Understanding the role of substance use in the relation between ACEs and reoffending has the potential to contribute to our knowledge of detained youth's treatment needs and reoffending risk.

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Recidivism in Serious Juvenile Offenders: Testing the Mediating Role of Future Orientation

Evidence suggests delinquent youth are more likely to suffer from posttraumatic stress symptoms and links those symptoms to subsequent aggressive behavior and criminal activity. Research also indicates the impact of decision-making capacity in this context. Specifically, future orientation has been shown to play an important role in adolescent delinquency; less future orientation has been linked with persistent delinquency. Notably, trauma exposure is associated with slower development of future orientation in delinquent youth. Using a sample of serious juvenile offenders, the current study examined the relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and aggressive reoffending testing the hypothesis that future orientation would mediate that relation. Results did not indicate significant mediation by future orientation in the link between posttraumatic stress symptoms and aggressive reoffending. However, experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms and low future orientation separately increased the likelihood of aggressive recidivism. Findings highlight the value of comprehensive prevention and intervention efforts, targeting both posttraumatic stress symptoms and future orientation.

#freemind: Young Women Using Mindfulness Meditation to Cope with Life in a Juvenile Justice Institution

The purpose of this study was to introduce mindfulness meditation, a recommended adjunctive treatment for trauma in juvenile justice-involved youth, to incarcerated young women and collect narrative commentary about their experiences to answer the following research questions: What is the experience of incarcerated young women who participate in Internet-based mindfulness meditation classes? How do incarcerated young women apply mindfulness meditation to life in a juvenile justice facility? Participants attended bi-weekly guided meditation sessions and wrote about their experiences after each session in a journal. Three coders used open-coding content analysis to identify topics and themes across 38 journal entries. The primary theme, found in 61% of entries, described the difficulties of living in a juvenile justice facility, providing context for the descriptions found in 58% of entries regarding the usefulness of mindfulness meditation to cope with those difficulties. This study highlights the challenges of living in a correctional institution as a young woman and the barriers such settings pose to the wellbeing and healthy development of their residents. It also points to mindfulness meditation as an operative method of supporting these highly traumatized young women until that time when alternatives to incarceration can be identified.

Victimization and Polyvictimization of Spanish Youth Involved in Juvenile Justice

Multiple victimization, or polyvictimization, is closely related to delinquency and crime, although few studies have studied these experiences in juvenile offenders. Therefore, the aim of this study is to present victimization rates in young offenders from a Southwestern European country. The sample consisted of 101 youth aged between 14 and 17 years, who were mainly recruited from detention centers (77.2%). From a lifetime perspective, the majority had suffered a criminal offense against the person (93.1%), exposure to community violence (95.0%), and peer victimization (86.1%). Prevalence rates for direct and indirect family violence were also high (63.4% and 43.6%). Electronic victimization reached a rate of 40.6% and sexual victimization of 15.8%. Past year experiences showed lower but similar patterns. Based on a community population criterion to define polyvictimization, 65.3% of the sample were considered lifetime polyvictims, while 41.6% were defined as past year polyvictims. Interventions to address multiple, concurrent forms of exposure to violence should be implemented in the justice system as polyvictimization has been revealed as a frequent reality in young offenders, which may result in antisocial behavior.

Mindfulness and meditation as an adjunctive treatment for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system: Is repairing the brain and nervous system possible?

Adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system are prone to more traumatic events than other adolescents, leaving them in danger of developmental difficulties. Trauma exposure is predictive of poor outcomes including mental and physical health issues as well as criminal activity. Current treatment approaches either have a nominal effect on recidivism rates or increase the likelihood of future criminal offenses. This article explores adolescent brain development, the unique difficulties that juvenile justice youth face, and mindfulness meditation as an adjunctive treatment to system-based treatment. Mindfulness meditation may be a way to redress damage to the brain and facilitate healthy brain development, thus impacting prosocial behavior. Practice implications include integrating mindfulness meditation as an important part of rehabilitative efforts with juvenile justice youth.

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Recidivism in a Sample of Juvenile Offenders in Community-Based Treatment

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been identified as a key risk factor for a range of negative life outcomes, including delinquency. Much less is known about how exposure to negative experiences relates to continued offending among juvenile offenders. In this study, we examine the effect of ACEs on recidivism in a large sample of previously referred youth from the State of Florida who were followed for 1 year after participation in community-based treatment. Results from a series of Cox hazard models suggest that ACEs increase the risk of subsequent arrest, with a higher prevalence of ACEs leading to a shorter time to recidivism. The relationship between ACEs and recidivism held quite well in demographic-specific analyses. Implications for empirical research on the long-term effects of traumatic childhood events and juvenile justice policy are discussed.

Outcomes of a family-based HIV prevention intervention for substance using juvenile offenders

Approximately 80% of all arrested youth are diverted from detention and supervised in the community through probation, specialty courts and other community-based diversion efforts. Justice-involved youth have greater psychiatric impairment, substance use and sexual risk behaviors than their non-justice-involved peers. Family-based interventions to address mental health, substance use and recidivism have been successful in improving these youth outcomes; but the lack of integration of HIV/STI prevention is notable given the co-occurrence of substance use, delinquency and sexual risk-taking behaviors among justice-involved youth. Moreover, emotion dysregulation may be an important and understudied underlying construct of these co-occurring risk behaviors for justice-involved youth. Study participants were 47 caregiver-youth dyads enrolled in a juvenile drug court program. As part of a pilot efficacy trial, dyads were randomized to a 5-session family-based integrated substance use and HIV/STI prevention intervention that relied on affect management strategies for risk reduction or an adolescent-only psychoeducation condition matched for time and attention. Data collected at baseline and 3months post-intervention suggest that a family-based integrated affect management substance use and HIV prevention pilot intervention may lead to justice-involved youths' enhanced motivation to change their marijuana use, decreased marijuana use and decreased risky sexual behavior over time. Future research is required to replicate these pilot trial findings and should also examine family-level mediators and moderators of treatment response, particularly with respect to HIV prevention efforts for these youth.