You Learn What You Live: Prevalence of Childhood Adversity in the Lives of Juveniles Arrested for Sexual Offenses

Levenson, Jill S.; Baglivio, Michael T.; Epps, Nathan; Royall, William Chip; Gomez, Katherine C.; Kaplan, Dahlia

doi:10.18060/21204

Cited by 42 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Wolff and colleagues (2015) found that 1-year recidivism patterns among adjudicated delinquent youth who participated in community-based services revealed that a higher number of ACEs shortened time to failure (time passing until an individual reoffends) for adolescents. Furthermore, as stated above, juveniles who sexually offend evidence more extensive traumatic exposures than juvenile offenders without sexual offending histories (Levenson et al, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical and Evidentiary Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In one study, most people with sexual offending histories were reported to have insecure parental attachment bonds, while individuals who raped and who sexually abused a child were more likely to report avoidant parental attachments and anxious parental attachments, respectively (Simons, Wurtele, & Durham, 2008). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to be more prevalent among juveniles who engaged in sexual offending than juvenile offenders without sexual offending histories (Levenson et al, 2017). Adverse early family factors can be more pronounced for people who have a repeating sexual offending history than people with sex offense history but no further sexual recidivism (Hanson & Harris, 2000).…”

Section: Theoretical and Evidentiary Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Female juveniles who sexually offended have been found to have significantly greater exposure to physical abuse, sexual abuse (nearly double the prevalence), and physical neglect (more than twice the prevalence) than female juveniles who offend without a sexual offense. Alternatively, male juveniles involved in sexual offending have higher prevalence of physical abuse, 2.5 times the prevalence of sexual abuse, and slightly higher (still significant) likelihood of physical neglect, household mental illness, and parental separation/divorce than male juvenile offenders without a sexual offense history (Levenson et al, 2017). While young individuals who have committed sexual offenses are comparable to other juvenile offenders on general criminogenic risk factors, those with prior sexual offenses can have higher future sexual offending risk (Fanniff et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting Sexual Recidivism

2019

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The current study focuses on adolescents with sex offense histories and examines sexual reoffending patterns within 2 years of a prior sex offense. We employed inductive statistical models using archival official records maintained by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ), which provides social, offense, placement, and risk assessment history data for all youth referred for delinquent behavior. The predictive accuracy of the random forest models is tested using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, the area under the curve (AUC), and precision/recall plots. The strongest predictor of sexual recidivism was the number of prior felony and misdemeanor sex offenses. The AUC values range between 0.71 and 0.65, suggesting modest predictive accuracy of the models presented. These results parallel the existing literature on sexual recidivism and highlight the challenges associated with predicting sex offense recidivism. Furthermore, results inform risk assessment literature by testing various factors recorded by an official institution.

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Section: Theoretical and Evidentiary Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Theoretical and Evidentiary Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting Sexual Recidivism

2019

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“…Compared with general population youth, among youth offenders, there are higher rates of childhood trauma, particularly physical abuse (Zou et al, 2013). Within groups of youth offenders, those who commit sexual crimes have histories marked with more physical and sexual victimization relative to youth who commit non-sexual crimes (Jespersen, Lalumière, & Seto, 2009; Levenson et al, 2017; Seto & Lalumière, 2010; Yoder, Dillard, & Leibowitz, 2017). Furthermore, in some studies, juveniles who commit sexual crimes have a greater prevalence of physical victimization, general exposure to sexual violence, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect (e.g., lack of emotional support) (Seto & Lalumière, 2010).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Victimization Experiences and Executive Dysfunction as Discriminating Risk Indicators for Youth Offender Typologies

Yoder

Precht

2019

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Research is becoming increasingly nuanced in its examination of offenders, and thus typological distinctions according to generalist and/or specialization offense profiles may be notable for targeted intervention efforts within and between classifications of offenders. There is a significant body of evidence identifying early-life victimization and executive function deficits as critical developmental antecedents to sexual and non-sexual offending alike, but they have not been exhaustively evaluated as a discernable experience among criminally versatile offenders (youth who commit both sexual and non-sexual crimes). This study aims to address gaps by examining associations between early-life victimization, other traumatic experiences in the home, and executive functioning deficits and then test how disparate offending groups differentially experience these early risks. Using a sample of juvenile-justice-involved youth ( N = 200), who committed sexual only offenses ( n = 41), non-sexual only offenses ( n = 124), and criminally versatile offenders ( n = 27), multivariate analysis of variance tests and bivariate correlations were conducted. Results revealed that there were statistically significant correlations between measures of executive functioning and specific incidents of victimization, particularly sexual, physical, and emotional. There were also significant group differences in measures of sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, and executive functioning with criminally versatile offenders showing higher rates of physical and emotional abuse and sexual only offenders showing higher rates of sexual abuse and some executive functioning deficits. Practice and research implications are discussed.

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“…The adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework provides a lens for understanding and measuring the impact on childhood trauma on psychological and physical health outcomes, including into adulthood (Felitti et al 1998). The ACEs framework is also widely used to understand the behavioral and health outcomes of marginalized, incarcerated, and maltreated children (Levenson et al 2017;Rebbe et al 2017; Clements-Nolle and Waddington 2019). ACEs and other social determinants of health are driving factors associated with entry into CSE (Naramore et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance Use, Mental Health, and Child Welfare Profiles of Juvenile Justice-Involved Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth

Bath

Barnert

Godoy

et al. 2020

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

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Objectives: To describe the substance use profiles of youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and explore associations between substance use with mental health diagnoses and child welfare involvement. Methods: Data were systematically extracted from the court files of 364 youth who participated between 2012 and 2016 in Los Angeles County's Succeeding Through Achievement and Resilience (STAR) Court, a juvenile delinquency specialty court for youth impacted by CSE. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to quantify associations between youths' substance use with mental health diagnoses and child welfare involvement. Results: Of the 364 youth impacted by CSE involved in the STAR Court, 265 youth had documented contact with a psychiatrist while in court-of whom, 73% were diagnosed with at least one mental health challenge. Before STAR Court participation, 74% of youth were the subject of one or more child welfare referral; of these youth, 75% had prior out-of-home care. Eighty-eight percent of youth reported substance use, the most prevalent illicit substances were marijuana (87%), alcohol (54%), and methamphetamine (33%). Controlling for age and race, youth impacted by CSE with a diagnosed general mood disorder had more than five times the odds of reporting substance use compared with those without a mood disorder diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 5.80; 95% confidence interval CI: 2.22-18.52; p < 0.001); and youth impacted by CSE with prior child welfare placements had more than two times the odds of reporting substance use (AOR: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.04-4.86; p = 0.039) compared with youth without prior placements. The association between substance use and general mood disorder was significant and positive for all substance use types (AOR = 3.3, p = 0.033 marijuana; AOR = 4.01, p = 0.011 concurrent alcohol and marijuana; AOR = 9.2, p < 0.001, polysubstance use). Conclusions: High prevalence of substance use among juvenile justice-involved youth impacted by CSE combined with strong associations between substance use with both mental health diagnoses and child welfare system history underscores the need for comprehensive, specialized substance use treatment. Findings suggest an important opportunity for multidisciplinary collaboration among mental health providers, child welfare professionals, juvenile justice practitioners, and other care providers for these youth.

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You Learn What You Live: Prevalence of Childhood Adversity in the Lives of Juveniles Arrested for Sexual Offenses

Cited by 42 publications

References 63 publications

Predicting Sexual Recidivism

Predicting Sexual Recidivism

Victimization Experiences and Executive Dysfunction as Discriminating Risk Indicators for Youth Offender Typologies

Substance Use, Mental Health, and Child Welfare Profiles of Juvenile Justice-Involved Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth

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