Trauma and Maternal Caregivers as Risks for Executive Function Deficits Among Youth Who Have Sexually Harmed

Abstract

Despite robust research linking trauma events to the commission of sexual harm by youth, the majority of victims do not become victimizers, imploring us to study potential interceding influences. Some research indicates that intermediary factors like attachment characteristics, trauma symptomatology, and executive functioning may be critical in understanding sexual harm committed by youth. This study explored relationships between trauma events, trauma symptoms, and attachment characteristics, and their relationship to executive functioning in a sample of 196 youth who committed sexual harm. Results revealed bivariate associations between trauma events, symptomatology, and maternal attachment characteristics. Structural equation modeling revealed numerous direct and indirect effects on the path to deficits in executive functioning, and that sexual abuse, above and beyond other forms of traumatic events, contributed to executive functioning deficits via trauma symptoms. The results are contextualized and implications are discussed.

Families, Mental Health, and Delinquency: Testing Sexual Crime Typologies of Youth Who Sexually Harm

“…Based on these findings, assisting parents/ caregivers in establishing and building strong attachment patterns while developing positive parenting skills may reduce the risk of sexually harmful behavior by youth. This underscores the recent research showing that attachment to mother (Brown et al, 2021) and positive parenting styles (Yoder et al, 2020) play an important role in the sequelae of childhood trauma and sexual offending. It also aligns with research showing that treatment for YSH should expand beyond the youth and include the family whenever possible (Yoder & Brown, 2015;.…”

“…Other researchers have found low parental attachment to be associated with sexual abusing by YSH more generally (Brown et al, 2021; Grady et al, 2021; Miner et al, 2016). In the current study, the classes showed varied attachment to mother.…”

“…Attachment theory posits that children form necessary relationships with primary caregivers for safety and comfort, beginning in infancy, resulting in powerful implications for a wide variety of later outcomes (Bowlby, 1977). Recent investigations of YSH that draw on attachment theory are integrated with the addition of multiple evidence-based risks for sexual behavior (Brown et al, 2021; Miner et al, 2016; Yoder et al, 2016). Grady and colleagues (2021) found that trauma experiences can interrupt attachment formation, contributing to criminogenic risks that contribute to sexual harm.…”

“…The commission of sexual harm can have long term detrimental consequences for those victimized, the community, and those who have sexually harmed. Researchers and treatment providers have long known that etiological investigations of youth who sexually harm (YSH) are challenged by the fact that they are a heterogeneous group with many overlapping factors that can potentially contribute to sexually harmful behavior (Brown et al, 2021;Fox & DeLisi, 2017;McCuish et al, 2015). Specifically, these youth have been found to encompass a variety of unique personality traits, criminal behaviors, demographic traits, psychopathologies, and childhood traumas (Brown et al, 2021;McCuish et al, 2015McCuish et al, , 2017.…”

Cascading Effects of Cumulative Trauma: Callous Traits among Justice Involved Youth

“…One common result of cumulative trauma exposure is trauma symptomatology (Aebi et al, 2015), as trauma exposure can increase the likelihood of exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Moore et al, 2013). Specifically, cumulative trauma can lead to an increase in trauma symptomatology (Brown et al, 2021; Finkelhor et al, 2007; Yoder et al, 2020). Particular doses and types of trauma exposure can yield differential symptomatology expression (Bennett et al, 2016); youth who experienced more than one type of abuse were more than twice as likely to have multiple mental health disorders, including PTSD (King et al, 2011).…”