Defining the Role Post-Traumatic Stress and Complex Trauma in the Assessment and Treatment of Male and Female Justice-Involved Youth

• In Event: Justice Involved Youth, Young Adults & Mental Health Issues

Abstract

Prevalence rates of PTSD and complex trauma histories are significantly higher in the juvenile justice population than in the general population. The impact of these factors in relation to rehabilitation and recidivism is often hotly debated, especially in regards to the treatment of female youth. While current widely used models of risk and need assessment take a largely ‘gender neutral’ approach to the assessment and rehabilitation of young offenders, proponents of a ‘gender-responsive’ approach to assessment and treatment argue that current models largely overlook the psychological, emotional, and health needs of young women. This study examines the relationship between PTSD symptomology, cumulative trauma experiences, recidivism, and current ‘gender-neutral’ criminogenic need profiles in a sample of 450 justice-involved male and female youth. Preliminary findings suggest that while PTSD symptomology was not an independent predictor of recidivism and therefore did not represent an independent criminogenic need in our sample, both males and females in the ‘high’ PTSD group were more likely to have an increased number of ‘high-risk’ criminogenic needs, suggesting that trauma may be acting as a perpetuating gender-neutral responsivity factor within the current framework. Implications of these results for assessment and intervention with justice-involved youth will be discussed.

Authors

• Nina Vitopoulos, University of Toronto

• Tracey Skilling, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

• Michele Peterson-Badali, University of Toronto