Latent Class Analysis of Exposure to Childhood Trauma and Health Risks among Justice-Involved Youth: An Approach towards Gender Differences

Research indicates juvenile justice-involved youth experience increased risk of exposure to childhood trauma and health risks. Little is known about the heterogeneity in trauma and health risk experiences among delinquent youth, especially across gender. The current study uses latent class analysis to examine typologies of self-reported exposure to trauma and health risks among a sample of 435 female and 1,198 male juvenile offenders. The study objectives were to identify any subgroups of justice-involved youths with varying patterns of trauma and health risk behaviors across gender, examine the size of these trauma-health risk subgroups, and examine socio-demographic differences in the trauma-health risk latent classes. Findings suggest the presence of three groups of trauma and health risk behaviors within the gender groups. For females, the three subgroups demonstrated linear trends in increasing prevalence of trauma and health risks. For males, the three subgroups reflected a generally low-risk group, a group with high rates of marijuana use and risky sexual behaviors, and a group with high rates of depression, family problems, sexual assault victimization, and bullying. The analyses for the covariates revealed racial differences in trauma and health risks. The findings suggest gendered intervention strategies should be considered for justice-involved youth.