A Latent Class Typology of Justice-Involved Youth Victims and Exploration of Trauma-Related Psychological Symptoms.

• NCJ Number: 254428
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Dated: 2019
• Author(s): Joan A. Reid; Thomas A. Loughran
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-MU-MU-0070
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Technical); Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Summary); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Report (Annual/Periodic); Reference Material; Questionnaire; Publication; Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Since justice-involved youth witness and experience disproportionately high levels of violence and abuse, yet our understanding of trauma-related symptoms and exposure to violence (ETV) in this group remains largely underdeveloped, the current study used data from a sample of 1,354 youth and applied latent class analysis to construct a typology of justice-involved trauma victims based on ETV items.

Abstract

The study also examined whether membership in different ETV classes was associated with more extensive and earlier system involvement and psychological symptomology. The study identified four classes of justice-involved trauma victims: minimally exposed youth, youth with high levels of witnessed violence, youth with high levels of witnessed and experienced non-lethal violence, and youth with high levels of witnessed and experienced non-lethal and lethal gun violence. Membership in the latter class was strongly associated with a higher number of arrests and younger age at first arrests. Significant differences in trauma-related symptoms were found across the various ETV classes. Implications for policy and practitioners are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)