Psychological Trauma and Juvenile Delinquency

Recent years have seen an explosion of new research dedicated to understanding the link between psychological trauma and juvenile delinquency. Building on the work of the previous decade which uncovered shocking rates of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress among juvenile justice-involved youth, more recent work has focused on uncovering the underlying developmental mechanisms that account for the association between trauma and antisocial behavior, as well as identifying the intervening processes that might encourage youth to be more positively social. Part I of this volume is dedicated to research investigating the moderating and mediating variables that might explain how childhood trauma is transformed into adolescent misbehavior. Expert contributors analyse a wide range of both traumas and traumatic reactions, and diverse samples, including little-studied sexual minority youth. This volume is unique in the particular attention it pays to the relatively neglected female offender. Part II describes innovative evidence-based treatments designed specifically to intervene with trauma among delinquent youth, including milieu, individual, group, family and parenting interventions, as well as a novel youth theatre. The collection concludes with reflections on social policy related to the development of a trauma-informed juvenile justice system. This book was originally published as two special issues of the Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma.

Patricia K. Kerig, PhD is Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Utah, USA. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the author of numerous works dedicated to the developmental psychopathology of childhood and adolescent trauma.

Part I: Dynamics and Developmental Mechanisms 1. Introduction to Part I Patricia K. Kerig 2. Multiple Types of Child Maltreatment, Posttraumatic Stress, Dissociative Symptoms, and Reactive Aggression among Adolescent Criminal Offenders Louise Silvern and Brook Griese 3. Victimization History and Posttraumatic Stress: An Analysis of Psychopathy Variants in Male Juvenile Offenders Joseph R. Tatar II, Elizabeth Cauffman, Eva R. Kimonis and Jennifer L. Skeem 4. Depressive Symptoms, Including Lack of Future Orientation, as Mediators in the Relationship between Adverse Life Events and Delinquent Behaviors Maureen A. Allwood, Carly Baetz, Sarah DeMarco and Debora J. Bell 5. Deconstructing PTSD: Traumatic Experiences, Posttraumatic Symptom Clusters, and Mental Health Problems among Delinquent Youth Patricia K. Kerig, Karin L. Vanderzee, Stephen P. Becker and Rose Marie Ward 6. Predictors of Recidivism among Delinquent Youth: Interrelations among Ethnicity, Gender, Age, Mental Health Problems, and Posttraumatic Stress Stephen P. Becker, Patricia K. Kerig, Ji-Young Lim and Rebecca N. Ezechukwu 7. The Relationship between Trauma and Delinquent Decision Making among Adolescent Female Offenders: Mediating Effects Brett Johnson Solomon, Lindsey E. G. Davis and Brittany Luckham 8. Sexual Minority Status, Abuse, and Self-Harming Behaviors among Incarcerated Girls Joanne Belknap, Kristi Holsinger and Jani Little Part II: New Directions in Interventions 9. Introduction to Part II Patricia K. Kerig 10. Shifting Internal Parent-Child Representations among Caregivers of Teens with Serious Behavior Problems: An Attachment-Based Approach Marlene M. Moretti, Ingrid Obsuth, Ofra Mayseless and Miri Scharf 11. Family Matters: Integrating Trauma Treatment into Functional Family Therapy for Traumatized Delinquent Youth Patricia K. Kerig and James F. Alexander 12. Adapting Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for the Treatment of Co-occurring Trauma and Delinquency in Adolescent Girls Dana K. Smith, Patricia Chamberlain and Esther Deblinger 13. Dramatic Healing: The Evolution of a Trauma-Informed Musical Theatre Program for Incarcerated Girls Meade Palidofsky and Bradley C. Stolbach 14. The Value of Implementing TARGET within a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Setting Monique T. Marrow, Kraig J. Knudsen, Erna Olafson and Sarah E. Bucher 15. Using a Trauma-Informed Approach in Juvenile Justice Institutions Gene Griffin, Edward J. Germain and Raymond G. Wilkerson