Trauma Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: Critical Issues and New Directions

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the prevalence and impact of trauma and traumatic stress among youth in the juvenile justice system and to describe emerging responses for identifying and treating these problems. Sections of this brief are: introduction; scope of the problem; trauma and its impact on youth; addressing trauma among youth in the juvenile justice system, including trauma screening, trauma assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of traumatic stress disorders, pharmacological treatment, and phase-oriented treatment; and summary.