Trajectories of Exposure to Community Violence and Mental Health Symptoms Among Serious Adolescent Offenders

Abstract

The present study uses longitudinal data to investigate whether differences in exposure to community violence discriminate among serious juvenile offenders in terms of mental health symptomatology for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and hostility. Group-based modeling and moderation analyses are used to assess the influence of exposure to violence on mental health outcomes. The results demonstrate a moderating effect of psychosocial maturity and social support between exposure to community violence and adverse mental health consequences for youth on the stable low exposure trajectory. In addition, youth who experience stable high exposure to violence consistently suffer worse outcomes. The study contributes to the development of empirically derived profiles of serious youth offenders. While all of the youth in this study may face the stigma of being labeled as dangerous, some (particularly those on the chronic exposure trajectory) might find themselves in a situation where their psychological status exacerbates an already tenuous situation: reentry. Therefore, reentry services should better target the specific needs of this returning subgroup of serious youth offenders.