Trauma exposure, psychiatric disorders, and resiliency in juvenile-justice-involved youth.

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that juvenile-justice-involved youth have high levels of trauma exposure, and that trauma correlates with psychiatric disorders. We assessed the relationships between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and resiliency factors in a population of justice-involved youth in New Hampshire (NH) and Ohio. We screened 350 youth at 5 NH family courts, the NH juvenile detention center, NH residential treatment facilities, and at one Ohio county juvenile court. The Web-based screen measured trauma, PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and resiliency factors. Ninety-four percent reported at least 1 trauma; the mean was 5.4. Screening showed 45.7% of youth positive for PTSD, 49.4% for depression, 61.2% for substance abuse, and 26.3% positive for all 3 disorders. Trauma exposure was significantly correlated with PTSD (p .001), depression (p .001), and substance abuse (p .009). Juveniles reporting 5.4 traumas had almost 8 times the probability of PTSD compared with those reporting 1 trauma, 7 times the likelihood of depression, and over 6 times the likelihood of substance abuse. Total resiliency score was not a moderator, but one subscale (Involvement) significantly moderated depression (p .036) and showed a trend to moderate PTSD (p .102). Results support recent findings reporting high levels of trauma exposure and related psychiatric disorders in juvenile-justice-involved youth. Multiply traumatized youth appear at risk for PTSD, depression, and substance use disorder. The apparent moderating effects of one resiliency subscale on depression and PTSD should be further explored.