Introduction: The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been long studied in various populations, but there has been limited research on how differential ACEs can lead to more uncommon outcomes in unique and high-risk populations, such as youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors. These youth experience ACEs at higher rates and with greater comorbidity than those who have engaged in nonsexual crimes or without justice-system involvement. ACEs are associated with increased suicidal ideation and attempts, though little research has examined how different types of ACEs (i.e., direct maltreatment vs. indirect maltreatment/household dysfunction) may lead to differential outcomes. In the current study, I analyze relationships between experiences of direct abuse (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse) and indirect abuse/household dysfunction (i.e., neglect, parental absence, caregiver substance misuse, caregiver mental illness, witnessing interpersonal violence) on suicidality outcomes in high-risk youth. I hypothesize that indirect maltreatment/household dysfunction will influence the relationships between adverse experiences and suicidality outcomes beyond the influence of direct maltreatment. Methods: Data were collected from archival records of male youth (n = 290) who had previously engaged in sexually abusive behaviors and received treatment from a private, nonprofit residential and outpatient treatment facility in Tennessee. Hierarchical linear and logistic regressions will be used to determine relationships between adverse experiences and various suicidality outcomes (e.g., presence of suicidal ideation or attempts, age at first suicidal ideation), first with direct maltreatment experiences and then indirect maltreatment/household dysfunction experiences. Results & discussion: Results will be discussed, along with implications for enhancing prevention and clinical intervention strategies for managing suicidality among high-risk youth.

Research on factors that predict opioid cravings is lacking. Anhedonia may be a predictor of cravings and particularly relevant to cravings when people struggle to regulate emotions but has yet to be examined among justice-involved populations. This study aimed to examine the relationship between anhedonia, opioid cravings, and emotion dysregulation (ED) in this population. Participants completed several measures. The results showed that anhedonia and opioid cravings were significantly related at the bivariate level, but not in moderation models. The DERS-36 total score and ‘DERS Impulse’ subscale had a significant, positive effect on cravings in moderation models. In a higher severity sample of people who used heroin, there was a significant interaction wherein the relationship between anhedonia and cravings was positive at high levels of difficulty controlling behaviors when distressed. These findings indicate the need to understand how anhedonia and ED influence opioid cravings among justice-involved people with severe heroin use.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) exhibit a strong influence on later functioning in adolescence and adulthood, including impacts on physical and mental health, as well as behavioral and risk-related outcomes. Youth who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors experience ACEs and negative outcomes at significantly elevated rates. The current study evaluates the relationship between ACEs and the youth’s own behavior and onset and length out-of-home placements, including family- or home-based, residential, and correctional placements. Data for this study consisted of archival records that were collected from a nonprofit inpatient treatment facility for adolescents who had engaged in sexually abusive behavior. The sample included 290 males and 5 females between the ages of 10 and 17 years of age (M = 14.8, SD = 1.56). Descriptive frequencies, correlational analyses, and linear regression analyses were performed to examine hypothesized relationships. Differing predictors emerged for initial onset and length of out-of-home placement types, with ACEs as stronger predictors of family-based placements, and the youths’ own aggressive and problematic sexual behaviors more predictive of onset and length of residential and correctional placements. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.

Justice-involved youth have been shown to have higher rates of mental health concerns and trauma exposure than youth in the general population (e.g., Wood et al., 2002). An increased understanding of these mental health concerns is crucial as incarcerated youth already have worse long-term health outcomes (Barnert et al., 2017). However, while the mental health needs in terms of specific mental health diagnoses of justice-involved youth are well-documented (e.g., Teplin et al., 2002), there is a lack of research on the mental health services that are provided to justice-involved youth in institutional settings. Further, there is no known research on youth perceptions of the mental health services they received while incarcerated, which could be used to inform future research and practice to improve services. Thus, this study aimed to fill this gap by examining through a mixed-methods approach how justice-involved youth perceive the mental health care they received while incarcerated, as well as by exploring themes of areas of improvement that youth indicate as recommendations for better mental health support in youth justice institutional settings. Two-hundred and one (201) individuals who were formerly incarcerated as youth (age 24 or younger) participated in this study. Overall, participants indicated slightly greater than average satisfaction with the mental health care they received. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine differences in satisfaction between groups. Significant differences in satisfaction among facility types that youth were incarcerated in and among racial groups were found. There were no significant differences based on gender or ethnicity. Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between Type-T (risk-taking/thrill-seeking) personality and satisfaction of mental health services while incarcerated, while controlling for covariates (gender, race, ethnicity, facility type, mental health diagnoses, and mental health services). Type-T was not found to be a significant predictor of satisfaction. Some mental health diagnoses (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia/psychotic disorder, substance use disorder), some racial groups (e.g., Arab American/Middle Eastern compared to White), and some facility types (e.g., juvenile detention compared to prisons) were found to be significant predictors of satisfaction. Thematic analysis was also performed on qualitative information obtained from both the surveys and interviews. Themes identified for positive aspects of mental health care experiences include Impact of Services, Relationships, Access, Service Quality, and No Positives. Themes identified for negative aspects of mental health care experiences include Access, Service Quality, Lack of Comfort, Ineffectiveness, Low Social Support, Physical Environment, All Negative, and No Negatives. Themes identified for recommendations include Access, Service Quality, Physical Setting and Environment, and Social Support. Results from this study have the potential to be used to inform experimental evaluations of changes to mental health services for incarcerated youth based on the strengths, identified needs, and recommendations of current mental health care from this study. Such studies could be aimed at improving services for incarcerated youth and developing best practices for mental health services for this population. / Psychological Studies in Education

abstract: In the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, courts and social service systems across the country have begun establishing veterans treatment courts (VTC). The first VTC was created in 2004 and there are now over 300 in at least 35 states. Yet, their underlying assumptions have not been clearly articulated and their functioning and outcomes have not been well tested. These courts aim to reduce rates of incarceration and recidivism among justice-involved veterans and draw heavily on the structure and assumptions of drug and mental health courts. However, VTCs are different in important ways. Unlike other problem solving courts, VTCs actively express gratitude to criminal defendants (for past military service) and have the ability to connect participants to a socially-esteemed identity. Earlier problem solving courts have drawn on Tyler’s theory of procedural justice to predict a path from procedurally fair treatment and social bonds with court personnel through changes in social identity to increased perceptions of legal legitimacy and, ultimately, program completion and reduced recidivism. The present study tested a modified, version of Tyler’s theory that incorporates gratitude and focuses on veteran identity as the mediating construct between fair treatment and perceptions of legal legitimacy. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (N = 188) of participants in two Arizona VTCs. The results indicate that perceptions of procedural justice, perceived social bonds and receipt of gratitude are positively associated with both veteran identity and perceptions of legal legitimacy. Further, veteran identity was found to be a significant mediator between the first three constructs and legal legitimacy. Finally, neither recidivism risk nor race/ethnicity moderated the relationships. The study supports the importance of acknowledging past military service and enhancing the level of veteran identity among VTC participants. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Social Work 2016

Seventy-five percent of women offenders confined to prison, jails, or residential treatment programs are custodial parents of minor children at the time of their separation. Little is known, though, about how prosocial networks are used to address the effects of separation from children. Using Bui and Morash's conceptualization of the theory of gendered pathways, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand, from the perspective of incarcerated women, the experience of using prosocial networks to cope with the effects of separation. Data were collected through interviews with 10 mothers from 2 residential treatment programs in Michigan. Interview data were inductively coded, then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. A key finding of this study was that women experience remorse, embarrassment, helplessness, and a sense of failure with respect to providing adequate care for their children and rely on their mothers or other female family members as the primary prosocial influence. Findings also suggest that Child Protective Services (CPS) is viewed by participants as intrusive and outside the prosocial network, yet significant to family reunification and permanency planning for children. Implications for positive social change include recommendations to criminal justice policymakers and Child Protective Services to consider provisions for supportive services for gender-specific programs that build on the influence of other, prosocial, female family members and promote a clear pathway to permanency planning for families, particularly where minor children are involved.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to assess practitioners’ views of service needs for juveniles involved with the justice system. In the United States, every year there are thousands of youth committed to detention institutions for delinquent acts. As a result, children as young as nine years of age up until adulthood have a difficult time integrating back into the community. In many instances, youth who have been involved with the justice system have a greater likelihood of recidivism due to their inability to adapt to their environment. Further, when youth enter the system, many times they are not receiving the adequate services necessary to decrease recidivism and in turn are faced with multiple encounters with the justice system and with untreated concerns and additional needs. This study used a qualitative design, conducting face to face interviews with ten justice involved youth practitioners. Participants were asked to explore areas such as, service utilization, recidivism rates, effectiveness of treatment, and barriers to service utilization. The results identified mental health and substance abuse treatment services as the most important needs of justice involved youth. Themes that emerged as important factors to the utilization of treatment services were meaningful relationships, parental support, and mentorship. This study found inadequacies with the process of assessing needs and services within the juvenile justice system. The results suggest a need for better treatment services and competent practitioners to reduce the likelihood of recidivism.