Emerging adulthood (EA) is a time of self-exploration as new opportunities for independence and autonomy arise. Yet, for some youth, this may also contribute to instability, uncertainty, and anxiety. Consequently, evidence suggests that rates of exposure to various forms of violence increase in EA. This study examined changes in experiences of bullying and sexual violence (SV) victimization among a sample of post-high school emerging adults who were exposed to a primary prevention program, Sources of Strength ( Sources). We also examined whether Sources skills (e.g., healthy coping and help-seeking) buffer against these experiences. Participants were 102 emerging adults (73.5% identifying as female, 36.3% as Latinx, and 22.6% as LGBQ), who completed surveys at three time points: 1 month prior to graduation and at 6- and 12-months post-graduation. Results suggest that as youth transition into emerging adulthood, experiences of bullying victimization were relatively low and slightly decreased whereas experiences of SV were also relatively low, but stable over time. Notably, bullying victimization was lower when female-identifying participants, relative to males, had higher levels of healthy coping. In addition, SV victimization for participants identifying as non-white was higher at lower levels of coping than those identifying as white; however, at higher levels of coping, non-white participants reported lower rates of SV victimization, while rates were relatively stable for white participants at high and low levels of coping. These findings provide some support for the Sources program model where engaging in healthy coping may protect young women from bullying exposure and buffer against SV victimization for racial and ethnic minoritized young adults. Implications for violence prevention are discussed.

Exposure to trauma is considered a critical factor in explaining the onset and maintenance of youth aggression. Integrating trauma-responsive practices into the operations of youth-serving systems improves incarcerated youths’ adaptive functioning and ability to succeed when back in society and serves as an opportunity to reduce the likelihood of future aggression. The Sanctuary Model is an approach to organizational culture change based on the structural development of processes that facilitate trauma-responsiveness within a therapeutic community environment. The Colorado Division of Youth Services adopted the Sanctuary Model as part of the primary foundational organizational model of care in 2014. This conceptual article first describes the Sanctuary Model and discusses its implementation using Bowen and Murshid’s (2016) social justice and trauma-informed social policy framework. The article provides an analysis that leads to seven recommendations that will assist organizational leaders in justifying the model at every stage of implementation, including the ongoing sustainability of the practices.

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system (JJS) have high rates of trauma relative to youth in the general population. Criminological research has posited that callous traits are some of the most prominent risk factors associated with onset and recidivistic criminal behavior. It stands to reason that research should test intermediary variables explaining the connection between cumulative trauma and risks for criminal behavior to better isolate trauma-driven determinants of callous traits. This study employs a structural equation model to test the connections between cumulative trauma, trauma symptoms, behavioral regulation, and callous traits among a sample of JJS involved youth ( N = 336). Results revealed there was not a direct relationship between cumulative trauma and callous traits, but there were mediated effects of the variables in portions of the model; the developmental risks resulting from cumulative trauma, specifically trauma symptoms and behavioral regulation increase the likelihood for callous traits. Implications are discussed.