Complex Trauma and Criminogenic Needs in a Youth Justice Sample: A Gender-Informed Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract

How complex trauma features and criminogenic needs co-vary within youth justice populations requires examination. This study applies latent profile analysis to a sample of 311 justice-involved Canadian youth (211 male, 100 female) to identify if unique profiles of youth would emerge delineated by different combinations of comorbid needs pulled from complex trauma and personality/social learning models. Two similar profiles emerged for males and females alike: a complex trauma with criminogenic needs profile (70% of females, 58.8% of males) and a low overall needs profile (30% of females, 41.2% of males). Surprisingly, the Youth-Level Service/Case Management Inventory predicted recidivism well among the complex trauma/criminogenic need female cases (AUC = .71), but poorly among the complex trauma/criminogenic need male cases (AUC = .59). Trauma-informed approaches that target criminogenic needs in both genders is a clear implication of the findings.