Trauma Exposure and PTSD in Justice-Involved Youth

This special issue of Child and Youth Care Forum includes four original research reports that build on the field’s knowledge of trauma stress exposure and PTSD in justice-involved youth. Utilizing diverse methodologies, study authors report unique results investigating important questions related to screening and assessment of justice-involved populations, the potential linkage between violence exposure and violence perpetration, and the complex relationships between trauma exposure in childhood and specific problematic offending behaviors. Each article includes specific clinical implications and recommendations for future research to provide useful information to juvenile justice administrators, mental health professionals, and researchers involved in the care and management of trauma exposed youth within the juvenile justice system. This introduction provides an overview of how empirical studies of the nature and sequelae of traumatic stress exposure are currently a focus for research and services in the juvenile justice field, highlighting how the articles in the Special Issue exemplify the progress to date, and promise for the future, of several lines of research involving psychometrics, health and correctional services, and clinical epidemiology.