Cascading Effects of Cumulative Trauma: Callous Traits Among Justice Involved Youth

• Author: Jamie Yoder,Ashley Tunstall
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/15412040221101922
• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

2022, Vol. 20(4) 292–311

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/15412040221101922

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Cascading Effects of Cumulative

Trauma: Callous Traits Among

Justice Involved Youth

Jamie Yoder

1

and Ashley Tunstall

1

Abstract

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system (JJS) have high rates of trauma relative to youth in the

general population. Criminological research has posited that callous traits are some of the most

prominent risk factors associated with onset and recidivistic criminal behavior. It stands to reason

that research should test intermediary variables explaining the connection between cumulative

trauma and risks for criminal behavior to better isolate trauma-driven determinants of callous

traits. This study employs a structural equation model to test the connections between cumulative

trauma, trauma symptoms, behavioral regulation, and callous traits among a sample of JJS involved

youth (N= 336). Results revealed there was not a direct relationship between cumulative trauma

and callous traits, but there were mediated effects of the variables in portions of the model; the

developmental risks resulting from cumulative trauma, specif‌ically trauma symptoms and be-

havioral regulation increase the likelihood for callous traits. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

Cumulative trauma, callous traits, behavioral regulation, youth violence

Introduction

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system (JJS) have high rates of trauma relative to their non-

JJS involved peers (Abram et al., 2004;Ford et al., 2010;Fox et al., 2015;Levenson et al., 2017).

There are many theoretical and empirical linkages explaining the relationship between traumatic

experiences and juvenile delinquency (Baron & Forde, 2020;Craig et al., 2017,2017b,2019;

Maschi, 2006;Vitopoulos et al., 2019). Criminological research has long posited that certain risks

are key indicators for the onset and continuity of youth delinquency and criminal behavior,

including limited empathy, psychopathy,or callous or unemo tional characteristics. Indeed, callous

traits are ranked in the top four among the eight most prominent risk factors for the onset of

criminal behavior and are linked to recidivism (Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Baglivio et al., 2021;

Kimonis et al., 2004;Kruh et al., 2005). Given that many traumatized young people do not

1

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jamie Yoder, Colorado State University, Education 117, 1586 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1019, USA.

Email: Jamie.Yoder@colostate.edu

become criminal offenders (Widom, 2017), it stands to reason that research should test the in-

termediary variables explaining the connection between traumatic experiences and risks for

ongoing criminal behavior (Robertson et al., 2021), like callous and unemotional traits (Hawes

et al., 2014;Kerr et al., 2012). A few notable evidence-supported explanatory variables like

trauma symptoms and behavioral regulation diff‌iculties (Craig et al., 2021) have been found to

partially explain the relationship between trauma experiences and sexual and delinquent behavi ors

among youth in the JJS (Grady et al., 2021). However, there is scant evidence on how trauma

events, specif‌ically cumulative traumatic events, or multiple experiences of adversity—commonly

experienced by youth in JJS—may be a developmental risk factor for callous traits among these

youth. This study endeavors to test direct and indirect relationships, via trauma symptomatology

and behavioral regulation between cumulative trauma and callousness among a multi-state sample

of youth in the JJS.

Cumulative Trauma and Trauma Symptoms

Across studies there are incongruous measurements of trauma and a range of trauma terms

including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), traumatic experiences, adversity, or negative

life events (Doric et al., 2019). While there are multiple conceptions of trauma, trauma indicators

assessed within research studies are not always experienced as traumatic (e.g., parental separation

or parental incarceration). Furthermore, many forms of adversity or trauma (e.g., raced-based

trauma or community violence) are altogether overlooked in research. This has led to pronounced

variation in measurement and operationalization and a tenuous understanding of trauma impacts.

This extends to the body of evidence on trauma among justice involved youth. Among youth in the

JJS there has been a shift towards assessing multiple and multifaceted experiences of trauma—a

term coined poly-victimization or cumulative trauma (Finkelhor et al., 2007)–to understand the

origins and development of youth delinquency (Dierkhising et al., 2013;Steinberg et al., 2014).

Evaluations of cumulative trauma using summed scores or latent classes have shown, with great

consistency, that multiple forms of trauma contribute to youth violence (Charak et al., 2019;Ford

et al., 2013;Yazgan et al., 2021). For instance, some research has indicated that among trau-

matized adolescents with an average of four different types of trauma exposur e, each trauma

exposure increased criminal activity by 13% (Layne et al., 2014), which is consistent with other

research demonstrating that as trauma exposures accumulate over time, high-risk behavioral

problems, JJS involvement (Ford et al., 2010), and severity in offending behavior (Baglivio et al.,

2020) become more likely. It is no surprise then, that multiple forms of trauma are key devel-

opmental risks for the onset of delinquency and involvement in the JJS system (Becker & Kerig,

2011;Craig et al., 2017;Ford et al., 2010;Fox et al., 2015). Nevertheless, the pathways between

cumulative trauma and youthful offending are not always deterministic (Widom, 2017); there is

ongoing deliberation concerning the mediating processes that partially or fully account for this

link.

One common result of cumulative trauma exposure is trauma symptomatology (Aebi et al.,

2015), as trauma exposure can increase the likelihood of exhibiting symptoms of post-traumati c

stress disorder (PTSD; Moore et al., 2013). Specif‌ically, cumulative trauma can lead to an increase

in trauma symptomatology (Brown et al., 2021;Finkelhor et al., 2007;Yoder et al., 2020).

Particular doses and types of trauma exposure can yield differential symptomatology expression

(Bennett et al., 2016); youth who experienced more than one type of abuse were more than twice

as likely to have multiple mental health disorders, including PTSD (King et al., 2011). Many

youths who offend and are involved in the JJS also have a history of cumulative trauma and post-

traumatic stress symptoms (Barry et al., 2014;Chapman & Ford, 2008;Ford, 2013;Ford et al.,

2010;Kerig et al., 2012;Yoder, Dillard et al., 2018). Detained youths experience post-traumatic

Yoder and Tunstall 293