Exploring the connections between trauma exposure during childhood and intimate partner violence in young adulthood among justice-involved youth
Thu, Nov 14, 12:30 to 1:50pm, Salon 12, Lower B2 LevelAbstract
Justice-involved youth witness and experience disproportionately high levels of childhood abuse and violence, yet our understanding of trauma exposure and its association with perpetration and/or victimization in intimate partner violence (IPV) later in life among this population remains largely underdeveloped. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study sample of 1,354 serious youthful offenders, this study uses latent class analysis to construct a typology of justice-involved trauma victims based on trauma exposure during childhood and adolescence. Second, we test whether membership in different classes is associated with IPV perpetration and/or victimization in young adulthood. We identified four classes of justice-involved trauma victims: minimally exposed youth, youth with high levels of witnessed violence, youth with high levels of witnessed and experienced non-lethal violence, and youth with high levels of witnessed and experienced non-lethal and lethal gun violence. Significant differences in IPV perpetration and victimization were found across the various classes.