Understanding Trauma Symptoms Experienced by Young Men under Youth Justice Supervision in an Australian Jurisdiction

Exposure to adversity or maltreatment is known to correlate with high-risk behaviors that can increase the risk of contact with the criminal justice system; however, few studies have focused on the role of trauma symptoms and other behaviors that may develop in response to exposure to adverse life events. We also know far less about the role of these experiences in young men compared to young women who have been in contact with the youth justice system. In this study, we examine the associations between different patterns of trauma symptomatology and adverse childhood experienced (ACEs), substance use, behavioral difficulties, and re-offending in a sample of 141 young men under the supervision of a Youth Justice (YJ) agency in Australia. Trauma symptoms were reported by over ninety percent of participants, with Latent Class Analysis used to identify four subgroups of young men based on their clustering of trauma symptomatology: internalizing, externalizing, high, and low trauma symptoms groups. The characteristics of young men across these groups were, however, remarkably similar. Over four-fifths scored in the clinical range for substance use and externalizing behavior problems, while recidivism was reported in over three-quarters of young men across all groups. These findings have implications for the development of trauma-informed responses by specialist adolescent mental health services as well as for adult forensic services that seek to understand the developmental origins of psychopathology and offending behavior. There appears to be a strong rationale for more compassionate and trauma-informed justice system practices.