Trauma among Incarcerated Juveniles
Young people in incarceration in the United States have been found to have trauma histories up
to 60 times greater than adolescents in the general population.1 Additionally, they have been
found to have twice the incidence of mental disorders when compared to the general
population.2
Large majorities of confined youth report having something very bad or terrifying happen to
them (70 percent) or personally seeing someone severely injured or killed (67 percent). Nearly
one-third (32 percent) say that, in preceding months, they had a lot of bad thoughts or dreams
about a frightening experience. 3
Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of youth in custody report prior experiences of frequent physical
abuse, while 18 percent of youth say they experienced injury from prior physical abuse. Some
youth indicate they experienced both frequent and injurious prior physical abuse; so
considering these experiences together, one-fourth (25 percent) of youth disclose histories of
physical abuse.4
One in ten youth (10 percent) report they were sexually molested, and 7 percent say that an
adult forced them to have sex. This latter group includes 5 percent of youth in custody who
indicate that the forced sex involved intrusion sex. One-eighth of youth in custody (12 percent)
report experiences of one or more types of prior sexual abuse.5 Additionally, a systematic
review of 23 studies estimated the prevalence of child sexual abuse among participants with
conduct disorder to be 27 percent.6
It should be noted that most people who experience sexual abuse in childhood do not disclose
this abuse until adulthood, and when disclosure does occur in childhood, significant delays are
common.7
Between 70 percent and 95 percent of detained youth have at least one psychiatric diagnosis, as
well as coexisting mental health problems.8 About one of every five youth in custody has a
Mallett, C. A. (2015). The incarceration of seriously traumatised adolescents in the USA: Limited
progress and significant harm. Criminal Behaviour And Mental Health, 25(1), 1-9.
1
Ibid.
Sedlak, Andrea, and McPherson, Karla. (2010). Survey of Youth in Residential Placement: Youth’s Needs
and Services. Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) Report. Rockville, MD: Westat.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Maniglio, R. (2014). Prevalence of sexual abuse among children with conduct disorder: A systematic
review. Clinical Child And Family Psychology Review, 17(3), 268-282.
7 McElvaney, R. (2015). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: Delays, non‐disclosure and partial disclosure.
What the research tells us and implications for practice. Child Abuse Review, 24(3), 159-169.
8 Lambie, Ian and Randell, Isabel. (2013). The Impact of Incarceration on Juvenile Offenders. Clinical
Psychology Review. 33, 448-459.
2
3
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Trauma among Incarcerated Juveniles
mental health disturbance that significantly impairs their capacity to function.9 Sadly, 30 percent
of youth in juvenile facilities have attempted suicide.10
For juveniles, incarceration, has been shown to be more damaging than rehabilitative. This
vulnerable population suffers negative consequences when placed in an environment that fails
to address, and often heightens, existing mental health, learning, and behavioral problems.11
Among all youth in correctional confinement nationwide, more than half are held in facilities
that do not conduct mental health assessments for all residents. Two out of every five youth in a
residential commitment program have not received any mental health counseling. Amazingly,
youth with serious mental health symptoms (anger, anxiety, suicidal feelings, attention deficitseven hallucinations) are less likely than other youth to receive counseling.12
WORKS CITED
Lambie, Ian and Randell, Isabel. (2013). The Impact of Incarceration on Juvenile Offenders.
Clinical Psychology Review. 33, 448-459.
This article reviews literature published since 2000 concerning the outcomes of incarceration on
youth offenders and the rehabilitative limitation of their incarceration, as well as evidencebased alternatives. (Researchers in this review define youth as any young person below the age
of 18, with adolescence occurring between the ages of 13 and 18) (p. 449).
Researchers focus on academic findings examining youth in the justice system as a special
population, outcomes of transfer and incarceration, disruption of a natural “age out” of criminal
behavior, behavior and iatrogenic effect of juvenile justice, rehabilitative limitation and negative
effects of juvenile incarceration, victimization within the criminal justice system, mental health,
suicidal behavior and ideation, social relationships, physical health, reentry into the community
and the impact on adulthood wellbeing, and finally, alternatives to incarceration.
Overall, this study finds that incarceration fails to meet the developmental and criminogenic
needs of youth offenders and is limited in its ability to provide appropriate rehabilitation.
Additionally, incarceration often results in negative behavior and mental health consequences,
including ongoing engagement in offending behaviors and contact with the justice system.
Furthermore, cited research indicates that incarceration of youth offenders is not an effective
option in terms of cost or outcome. The severe behavior problems of juvenile offenders are a
result of complex and interactive individual and environmental factors, which elicit and
maintain offending behavior (p. 448).
Mendel, Richard A. (2011). No Place For Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration. The Annie
E. Casey Foundation.
10 Ibid.
11 Lambie and Randell, 2013.
12
Ibid.
9
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Trauma among Incarcerated Juveniles
Mallett, C. A. (2015). The incarceration of seriously traumatised adolescents in the USA:
Limited progress and significant harm. Criminal Behaviour And Mental Health, 25(1), 1-9.
This mixed method empirical study explores the incarceration of young offenders in the USA.
Researchers posit that the pace of incarceration reform in the USA remains geographically
disparate. The study finds that most incarcerated youths in the USA are 16-17 years old, from
ethnic minorities (68%) and are male youth (87%), although numbers of young women have
been increasing slightly. Furthermore, outcomes from incarceration of young people in the USA
are poor. Incarceration does not decrease future adolescent crime, and the experience of it is
itself part of the problem. Researchers present steps to decrease the USA juvenile incarceration
rates, which include eliminating status offenders from such placements, reducing custodial
placement for low-level offenders who pose minimal risks to community safety, to identify
adolescents’ trauma and mental health problems, and finally, to dismantle the school-to-prison
pipeline.
Maniglio, R. (2014). Prevalence of sexual abuse among children with conduct disorder: A
systematic review. Clinical Child And Family Psychology Review, 17(3), 268-282.
Researchers in this systematic review explored the prevalence of sexual abuse among children
with conduct disorder. Twenty-three studies meeting minimum quality criteria that were
enough to insure objectivity and not to invalidate results revealed that the estimated prevalence
of child sexual abuse among participants with conduct disorder was found to be 27%.
McElvaney, R. (2015). Disclosure of child sexual abuse: Delays, non‐disclosure and partial
disclosure. What the research tells us and implications for practice. Child Abuse Review,
24(3), 159-169.
This article reviews the research on disclosure of child sexual abuse with specific reference to
delays in disclosing, non-disclosure and partial disclosure of experiences of child sexual abuse.
Findings from large-scale national probability studies highlight the prevalence of both nondisclosure and delays in disclosure, while findings from small-scale qualitative studies portray
the complexity, diversity and individuality of experiences.
Overall, children typically delay disclosing experiences of sexual abuse. Researchers explore the
possible explanations regarding why children are reluctant to disclose such experiences and
implications for addressing the issue of child sexual abuse from the perspectives of child
protection, legal and therapeutic professionals. Additionally, the article explores the importance
of understanding the dynamics of disclosure and implications for practice when working with
children who have been victims of child sexual abuse.
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Trauma among Incarcerated Juveniles
Mendel, Richard A. (2011). No Place For Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
This report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation reviews the current state of juvenile detention in
the United States, positing that there are six fundamental flaws in the states’ long-standing
heavy reliance on large, prison-like correctional institutions. The article states that juvenile
detention centers are 1) dangerous, 2) ineffective, 3) unnecessary, 4) obsolete, 5) wasteful, and 6)
inadequate. The report concludes with an exploration of ways to reduce juvenile incarceration
and redesign juvenile correctional systems.
Perry, Bruce D. (1997). Incubated in Terror: Neurodevelopmental Factors in the ‘Cycle of
Violence’ In: Children, Youth and Violence: The Search for Solutions (J Osofsky, Ed.).
Guilford press, New York, pp 124-148.
This article explores the impact of being a witness to or victim of physical abuse, domestic
violence, and community violence on the developing child in the context of neurodevelopment
and the subsequent emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social functioning of children. The
author discusses brain organization and function, the impact of violence on the developing
brain, emotional neglect, cognitive neglect, traumatic violence and the persisting state of fear
(the fear response), and the ideology of aggression.
Overall, the article states that children exposed to violence are more likely to be violent due to a
persisting state of fear or persisting state of ‘fight or flight.’ Additionally, children exposed to
violence and trauma are frequently diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder with
hyperactivity, however, these children have behavioral impulsivity and cognitive distortions all
of which result from a use-dependent organization of the brain. They often have difficulties
with cognitive organization which contributes to a more primitive and less mature style of
problem solving, to include violence, they are often smart but cannot learn easily, and they
focus on non-verbal rather than verbal cues.
Finally, these individuals experience emotional emptiness resulting from neglect that can only
be temporarily filled through the use of exogenous euphoriants such as drugs or alcohol. It is
often the intoxicating agents that allow expression of the neurodevelopmentally determined
pre-disposition for violence. The ‘fight or flight’ reactivity response is profoundly exaggerated
when the individual is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Sedlak, Andrea, and McPherson, Karla. (2010). Survey of Youth in Residential Placement:
Youth’s Needs and Services. Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) Report.
Rockville, MD: Westat.
The Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) is the third component in the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) constellation of surveys providing
updated statistics on youth in custody in the juvenile justice system. It joins the Census of
Juveniles in Residential Placement and the Juvenile Residential Facility. This research report
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Trauma among Incarcerated Juveniles
describes youth’s emotional and psychological needs, substance abuse problems, medical needs,
and educational status as well as the relevant services they receive in custody.
Research Brief: Trauma and Juvenile Incarceration
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