Explaining Homeless Youths’ Criminal Justice Interactions: Childhood Trauma or Surviving Life on the Streets?

• Published in: Community mental health journal 2014-02, Vol.50 (2), p.135-144
• Main Authors: Yoder, Jamie Rae, Bender, Kimberly, Thompson, Sanna J., Ferguson, Kristin M., Haffejee, Badiah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Arrests; Behavior; Child; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - diagnosis; Child Abuse - legislation & jurisprudence; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Childhood; Childhood abuse; Children & youth; Community and Environmental Psychology; Comorbidity; Criminal Justice; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dangerous Behavior; Drug Abuse; Drug Trafficking - legislation & jurisprudence; Drug Trafficking - statistics & numerical data; Drug use; Female; Homeless people; Homeless young people; Homeless Youth - legislation & jurisprudence; Homeless Youth - psychology; Homeless Youth - statistics & numerical data; Homelessness; Housing; Humans; Interview, Psychological; Juvenile Delinquency - legislation & jurisprudence; Juvenile Delinquency - psychology; Juvenile Delinquency - statistics & numerical data; Life Change Events; Male; Mass Screening - statistics & numerical data; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Peers; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatry; Risk; Risk Factors; Runaways; Sex crimes; Sex Work - legislation & jurisprudence; Sex Work - psychology; Sex Work - statistics & numerical data; Sexual abuse; Shelters; Social work; Substance abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Theft - legislation & jurisprudence; Theft - psychology; Theft - statistics & numerical data; Trauma; United States; Young Adult; Young people; Youth
• ISSN: 0010-3853; 1573-2789
• DOI: 10.1007/s10597-013-9690-7

Homeless youth are at increased risk for involvement in the criminal justice system. This study investigated childhood trauma as a risk factor for arrest or jail among a sample of youth seeking services at drop in, shelter, and transitional housing settings, while controlling for more established risk factors including: substance use, peer deviance, and engagement in survival behaviors. Standardized and researcher developed measures collected quantitative data through face-to-face interviews with youth ( N  = 202). Two sequential logic regression models identified significant predictors of arrest and jail, with a particular interest in the effects of childhood maltreatment. Youth with a history of physical abuse were nearly twice as likely to be arrested and to be jailed compared to non-abused youth, controlling for the significant influence of drug use and survival behaviors. These findings suggest the need for trauma screening and trauma-informed services for homeless youth at risk of illegal behavior.