Associations among Trauma Exposure, Callous-Unemotionality, Race or Ethnicity, and Gang Involvement in Justice-Involved Youth

• NCJ Number: 302753
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Dated: 2020
• Author(s): L. Mendez; et al
• Date Published: 2020
• Grant Number(s): 2014-R2-CX-0020
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Factors Promoting Risk or Resilience Among Polyvictimized Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

Annotation

This study examined the association between trauma exposure and gang involvement and whether these interrelations were explained by callous-unemotionality (CU), and it also considered whether associations among these variables differed based on race or ethnicity. 

Abstract

A sample of 829 justice-involved youth (74 percent boys, 45 percent participants of color) recruited from a detention center completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, CU, and gang involvement. A moderated mediation analysis indicated that CU helped explain the association between trauma exposure and gang involvement for non-Hispanic White participants only. In contrast, the direct association between trauma exposure and gang involvement was significant across racial or ethnic groups. These findings highlight the importance of a trauma-informed perspective on intervening and preventing gang involvement among youth. (publisher abstract modified)