Much to Do About Trauma: A Systematic Review of Existing Trauma-Informed Treatments on Youth Violence and Recidivism

Abstract

Research has demonstrated a relationship between childhood trauma, violence, and justice involvement. As juvenile justice systems have become more attune to the needs of traumatized youth, a number of trauma-informed treatment programs have been developed to mitigate the effects of trauma. Evaluations of trauma-informed treatment demonstrate their effectiveness in reducing trauma-related symptoms. Further, prior research has found that trauma-informed treatment can reduce behavioral infractions and institutional violence. While there is indirect evidence that trauma-informed treatment reduces juvenile violence and recidivism, no research to date has assessed trauma-informed treatment on behavioral outcomes outside of residential facilities. This systematic review provides an overview of the use trauma-informed treatment in juvenile justice settings and provides recommendations for practice and future research.

Trauma, Psychopathy, and Antisocial Outcomes Among Community Youth: Distinguishing Trauma Events From Trauma Reactions

“…The fortunate news is there are many programs, modalities, and interventions including Trauma Systems Therapy, Trauma Affect Regulation, Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress, Sanctuary, and Think Trauma that provide services to youth dealing with traumatic experiences. The unfortunate news is the effectiveness of the programs as determined by evaluation studies is lacking particularly among community youth (for reviews, see Ford & Blaustein, 2013; Zettler, 2021).…”

“…Although trauma and psychopathy are recurrent in conduct problems among youth (cf., Baglivio, 2019; Farina et al, 2018; Ford & Blaustein, 2013; Moreira et al, 2020; Pechorro et al, 2014; Zettler, 2021), it remains unclear how they are interrelated. One reason for the multitudinous research findings in the literature is that trauma exposure is usually modeled without considering reactions to the trauma, such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress.…”

Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE): Cumulative Resiliency in the Face of Adverse Childhood Experiences

“…Relevant policy and juvenile justice system practice implications can be gleaned from these initial findings, and would be strengthened pending additional supportive findings from future research. While specific trauma treatments, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and Seeking Safety have demonstrated efficacy in reducing trauma-related symptoms (e.g., Cohen et al, 2016; Morina et al, 2016; Najavits et al, 2006), the evidence base for such treatments in reducing subsequent offending, especially among already justice-involved youth is surprisingly sparce, and often even less examined for male trauma-exposed offenders and those serving community-based juvenile placements as opposed to within residential facilities (Zettler, 2020). The current findings, in contrast demonstrate the needs for case workers, probation officers, and service providers to assist youth with access to opportunities to enhance the extent of positive experiences youth may be exposed to.…”

Evaluating RNR-Based Targeted Treatment and Intervention Dosage in the Context of Traumatic Exposure

“…Specifically, there is evidence that trauma-specific treatment does well to address clinical symptomology (Black et al, 2012; Silverman et al, 2008). However, as noted in a recent systematic review, there is a significant lack of research on such modalities among samples of adolescents involved in the justice system, and with respect to whether such treatments reduce dynamic “criminogenic” risks and/or recidivism (Zettler, 2020). Future work would greatly advance the field and provide strong juvenile justice policy implications to the extent those questions can be empirically addressed.…”