Abstract
Elevated rates of traumatic experience in the juvenile justice population are well established. Nevertheless, the role of trauma and its application to rehabilitation and recidivism in a criminal justice context remains hotly debated, particularly for female youth. The Risk-Need-Responsivity framework, the predominant model for risk assessment and case management in juvenile justice, does not consider trauma to be a risk factor for offending. This study examined– Posttraumatic Stress symptomology, maltreatment history, and childhood adversity – in relation to RNR risk factors for reoffending (criminogenic needs) and recidivism in a sample of female and male juvenile offenders. Rates of PTS symptomology, maltreatment, and childhood adversity were significantly higher in this sample compared to prevalence in the general population. Females were more likely to have experienced maltreatment. Several maltreatment and childhood adversity types were significantly related to criminogenic needs. PTS symptomology and adversity were not significant predictors of recidivism when entered alongside criminogenic needs; however, maltreatment was the strongest predictor of recidivism for both male and female youth in a model that included criminogenic needs. Gender did not moderate the relationship between maltreatment and recidivism. The importance of considering youths’ maltreatment history in their rehabilitative care is discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abram, K. M., Teplin, L. A., Charles, D. R., Longworth, S. L., McClelland, G. M., & Dulcan, M. K. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61, 403–410. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.61.4.403.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Afifi, T. O., MacMillan, H. L., Boyle, M., Taillieu, T., Cheung, K., & Sareen, J. (2014). Child abuse and mental disorders in Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 186, 324–332. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.131792.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Andrews, D., Bonta, J., & Hoge, R. (1990). Classification for effective rehabilitation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17, 19–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854890017001004.
Andrews, D. A., Bonta, J., & Wormith, S. J. (2006). The recent past and near future of risk/need assessment. Crime and Delinquency, 52, 7–27.
Andrews, D., Guzzo, L., Raynor, P., Rowe, R., Rettinger, L., Brews, A., & Wormith, J. (2012). Are the major risk/need factors predictive of both female and male reoffending?: a test with the eight domains of the level of service/case management inventory. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 56, 113–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X10395716.
Ardino, V., Milani, L., & Di Blasio, P. (2013). PTSD and re-offending risk: the mediating role of worry and a negative perception of other people's support. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 4, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.21382.
Baglivio, M., Epps, N., Swartz, K., Sayedul Huq, M., Sheer, A., & Hardt, N. (2014). The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in the lives of juvenile offenders. Journal of Juvenile Justice., 3, 1–23.
Becker, S. P., & Kerig, P. K. (2011). Posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with the frequency and severity of delinquency among detained boys. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40, 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2011.597091.
Belknap, J. (2015). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice (4th ed.). Belmont: Cengage Learning.
Bender, K. (2010). Why do some maltreated youth become juvenile offenders? Children and Youth Services, 32, 466–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.10.022.
Bloom, B., Owen, B., Rosenbaum, J., & Deschenes, E. P. (2003). Focusing on girls and young women. Women & Criminal Justice, 14, 117–136. https://doi.org/10.1300/J012v14n02_06.
Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2017). The psychology of criminal conduct (6th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2013). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Chitsabesan, P., & Bailey, S. (2006). Mental health, educational and social needs of young offenders in custody and in the community. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19, 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.yco.0000228753.87613.01.
Cloitre, M., Stolbach, B. C., Herman, J. L., Kolk, B. v. d., Pynoos, R., Wang, J., & Petkova, E. (2009). A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 399–408. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20444.
Coleman, D., & Stewart, L. M. (2010). Prevalence and impact of childhood maltreatment in incarcerated youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 343–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01038.x.
Conrad, S. M., Tolou-Shams, M., Rizzo, C. J., Placella, N., & Brown, L. K. (2014). Gender differences in recidivism rates for juvenile justice youth: The impact of sexual abuse. Law and Human Behavior, 38, 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000062.
Copeland, W. E., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 577–584. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.5.577.
Costello, E., Erkanli, A., Fairbank, J. A., & Angold, A. (2002). The prevalence of potentially traumatic events in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 99–112.
Daly, K. (1994). Gender, crime, and punishment. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Dixon, A., Howie, P., & Starling, J. (2005). Trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, and psychiatric comorbidity in female juvenile offenders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 798–806. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000164590.48318.9c.
Dong, R., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Williamson, D. F., Dube, S. R., Brown, D. W., & Giles, W. H. (2005). Childhood residential mobility and multiple health risks during adolescence and adulthood: the hidden role of adverse childhood experiences. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 1104–1110. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.159.12.1104.
Dongyoung, S. Y., Youngstrom, E. A., Feeny, N. C., Youngstrom, J. K., & Findling, R. L. (2015). Comparing the diagnostic accuracy of five instruments for detecting posttraumatic stress disorder in youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 0(0), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1030754.
Evans, C. B. R., & Burton, D. L. (2013). Five types of child maltreatment and subsequent delinquency: physical neglect as the most significant predictor. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 6(4), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361521.2013.837567.
Ford, J. D., & Blaustein, M. E. (2013). Systemic self-regulation: a framework for trauma-informed services in residential juvenile justice programs. Journal of Family Violence, 28(7), 665–677. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9538-5.
Ford, J., Chapman, J., Connor, D., & Cruise, K. (2012). Complex trauma and aggression in secure juvenile justice settings. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39, 694–724. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812436957.
Fox, B. H., Perez, N., Cass, E., Baglivio, M. T., & Epps, N. (2015). Trauma changes everything: examining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious, violent and chronic juvenile offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 46, 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.01.011.
Foy, D. W., Ritchie, I. K., & Conway, A. H. (2012). Trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, and comorbidities in female adolescent offenders: findings and implications from recent studies. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3, 17247. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17247.
Gavazzi, S., Yarcheck, C., & Chesney-Lind, M. (2006). Global risk indicators and the role of gender in a juvenile detention sample. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33, 597–612. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854806288184.
Gilbertson, M. W., Shenton, M. E., Ciszewski, A., Kasai, K., Lasko, N. B., Orr, S. P., & Pitman, R. K. (2002). Smaller hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological trauma. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 1242–1247. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn958.
Green, J. G., McLaughlin, K. A., Berglund, P. A., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication I: Associations with first onset of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67, 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.186.
Herman, J. L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490050305.
Hodges, M., Godbout, N., Briere, J., Lanktree, C., Gilbert, A., & Kletzka, N. T. (2013). Cumulative trauma and symptom complexity in children: a path analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 891–898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.04.001.
Hoge, R. D., & Andrews, D. A. (2002). Youth level of service / case management inventory: YLS/CMI interview guide. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems. The repeat offender project. Toronto: Ministry of Community and Social Services.
Hoge, R. D., & Andrews, D. A. (2011). Youth level of service/case management inventory 2.0 (YLS/CMI 2.0): User’s manual. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
Hubbard, D. J., & Pratt, T. C. (2002). A meta-analysis of the predictors of delinquency among girls. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1300/J076v34n03_01.
Jones, N. J., Brown, S. L., Wanamaker, K. A., & Greiner, L. (2014). A quantitative exploration of gendered pathways to crime in a sample of male and female juvenile offenders. Feminist Criminology, 9, 113–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085113501850.
Kaminer, Y., Ford, J. D., & Clark, D. (2010). Assessment and treatment of internalizing disorders. In Y. Kaminer & K. Winters (Eds.), Clinical manual of adolescent substance abuse treatment (pp. 307–347). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association Press.
Kilpatrick, D. G., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno, R., Saunders, B. E., Resnick, H. S., & Best, C. L. (2003). Violence and risk of PTSD, major depression, substance abuse/dependence, and comorbidity: results from the National Survey of Adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(4), 692–700.
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33, 159–174.
Li, D., Chu, C. M., Goh, J. T. L., Ng, I. Y. H., & Zeng, G. (2015). Impact of childhood maltreatment on recidivism in youth offenders: a matched-control study. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42, 990–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815598598.
Malakieh, J. (2017). Youth Correctional Statistics in Canada 2015/2016 (Catalogue no. 85-002-X). Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics-Statistics Canada. Retrieved August 2017 from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/14702-eng.pdf?st=kYjr2DOm
Maschi, T., & Schwalbe, C. S. (2012). Unraveling probation officers' practices with youths with histories of trauma and stressful life events. Social Work Research, 36, 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svs007.
Maschi, T., Bradley, C. A., & Morgen, K. (2008). Unraveling the link between trauma and delinquency: the mediating role of negative affect and delinquent peer exposure. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 6, 136–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204007305527.
Mersky, J., Topitzes, J., & Reynolds, A. (2012). Unsafe at any age: linking childhood and adolescent maltreatment to delinquency and crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 49, 295–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427811415284.
Moore, E., Gaskin, C., & Indig, D. (2013). Childhood maltreatment and post-traumatic stress disorder among incarcerated young offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 861–870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.07.012.
Olver, M. E., Stockdale, K. C., & Wormith, J. S. (2014). Thirty years of research on the level of service scales: a meta-analytic examination of predictive accuracy and sources of variability. Psychological Assessment, 26, 156–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035080.
Onifade, E., Davidson, W., Campbell, C., Turke, G., Malinowski, J., & Turner, K. (2008). Predicting recidivism in probationers with the youth level of service case management inventory (YLS/CMI). Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35, 474–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807313427.
Onifade, E., Barnes, A., Campbell, C., Anderson, V., Petersen, J., & Davidson, W. (2014). Juvenile offenders and experiences of neglect: the validity of the YLS/CMI with dual-status youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 46, 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.08.004.
Peterson-Badali, M., Skilling, T., & Haqanee, Z. (2015). Examining implementation of risk assessment in case management for youth in the justice system. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(3), 304–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854814549595.
Reisig, M., Holtfreter, K., & Morash, M. (2006). Assessing recidivism risk across female pathways to crime. Justice Quarterly, 23, 384–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820600869152.
Rettinger, L. J., & Andrews, D. A. (2010). General risk and need, gender specificity, and the recidivism of female offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 29–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809349438.
Ruggiero, K. J., & McLeer, S. V. (2000). PTSD scale of the child behavior checklist: concurrent and discriminant validity with non-clinic-referred sexually abused children. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 287–299. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007710828777.
Schmidt, F., Hoge, R., & Gomes, L. (2005). Reliability and validity analyses of the youth level of service/case management inventory. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 32, 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854804274373.
Schmidt, F., Campbell, M., & Houlding, C. (2011). Comparative analyses of the YLS/CMI, SAVRY, and PCL:YV in adolescent offenders: a 10-year follow-up into adulthood. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 9, 23–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204010371793.
Sims, L., Friedrich, W. N., Davies, W. H., Trentham, B., Lengua, L., & Pithers, W. (2005). The child behavior checklist as an indicator of posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociation in normative, psychiatric, and sexually abused children. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 697–705. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20078.
Smith, C. A., Ireland, T. O., & Thornberry, T. P. (2005). Adolescent maltreatment and its impact on young adult antisocial behavior. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1099–1119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.02.011.
Smith, D., Leve, L., & Chamberlain, P. (2006). Adolescent girls’ offending and health-risking sexual behavior: the predictive role of trauma. Child Maltreatment, 11, 346–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559506291950.
Thomas, M., Hurley, H., Grimes, C. (2002). Pilot analysis of recidivism among convicted youth and young adults-1999/2000 Catalogue no. 85-002-XP). Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics-Statistics Canada. Retrieved October 2018 from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/85-002-x2002009-eng.pdf?st=Dnd6Q10g
Van Voorhis, P., Wright, E., Salisbury, E., & Bauman, A. (2010). Women’s risk factors and their contributions to existing risk/needs assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 261–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809357442.
Vieira, T., Skilling, T., & Peterson-Badali, M. (2009). Matching court-ordered services with treatment needs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36, 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854808331249.
Vitopoulos, N., Peterson-Badali, M., & Skilling, T. (2012). The relationship between matching service to criminogenic need and recidivism in male and female youth: Examining the RNR principles in practice. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39, 1025–1041. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812442895.
Widom, C. S. (2017). Long-term impact of childhood abuse and neglect on crime and violence. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 24(2), 186–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12194.
Wilson, H. W., Berent, E., Donenberg, G. R., Emerson, E. M., Rodriguez, E. M., & Sandesara, A. (2013). Trauma history and PTSD symptoms in juvenile offenders on probation. Victims & Offenders, 8, 465–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2013.835296.
Wolff, K. T., Baglivio, M. T., & Piquero, A. R. (2015). The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and recidivism in a sample of juvenile offenders in community-based treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61, 1210–1242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X15613992.
Wong, J. S., & Schonlau, M. (2013). Does bully victimization predict future delinquency?: A propensity score matching approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40, 1184–1208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854813503443.
World Health Organization. (2016). Child maltreatment fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs150/en/. Accessed 30 Sept 2016.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the clinicians at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Child, Youth and Family Program and the cooperation of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services of the Province of Ontario. The authors would like to express their deep appreciation to Kathy Underhill, formerly of the Program Effectiveness, Statistics and Applied Research Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and Mr. Justice Brian Weagant of the Ontario Court of Justice for their contributions to this study. This research was supported by Grant number 410101516 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to Michele Peterson-Badali and Tracey Skilling, and a SSHRC doctoral scholarship to Nina Vitopoulos.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Disclosure of Interest
This research is based on a portion of Nina Vitopoulos’ PhD thesis, submitted to the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education/University of Toronto. On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Standards and Informed Consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vitopoulos, N.A., Peterson-Badali, M., Brown, S. et al. The Relationship Between Trauma, Recidivism Risk, and Reoffending in Male and Female Juvenile Offenders. Journ Child Adol Trauma 12, 351–364 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-018-0238-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-018-0238-4