Laws 2014, 3(4), 744-758; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws3040744
Addressing Trauma and Psychosocial Development in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: A Synthesis of the Developmental Neuroscience, Juvenile Justice and Trauma Literature
Department of Psychology, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA
Received: 1 July 2014 / Revised: 3 October 2014 / Accepted: 11 October 2014 / Published: 21 October 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Juvenile Delinquency)
Abstract
Youth incarcerated in the juvenile justice system are disproportionately exposed to traumas both in and outside of custody that are associated with poor social, behavioral, and developmental outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to describe one pathway through which trauma can impact a myriad of outcomes, including delinquency, violence, substance use, and other behaviors that are self-regulatory in nature. Relevant research from the developmental neuroscience, juvenile justice, and trauma literatures are drawn upon and synthesized to describe this pathway. Using a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the role that brain development and neural activity play in the relationship between trauma and associated behavioral outcomes could serve to inform juvenile justice policy decisions and intervention practice. Such application could increase the effectiveness with which juvenile justice systems work with one of the most vulnerable and traumatized populations of youth in today’s society: those incarcerated in our juvenile justice system. View Full-TextKeywords:
juvenile justice; adolescent development; self-regulation; trauma; ACEs; neural development
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Evans-Chase, M. Addressing Trauma and Psychosocial Development in Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: A Synthesis of the Developmental Neuroscience, Juvenile Justice and Trauma Literature. Laws 2014, 3, 744-758.