Environmental Considerations for Trauma‐Responsive Juvenile and Family Courts: A Review of the Literature with Recommendations for Practice

• Author: Shawn C. Marsh,Vanessa A. Helfrick,Alicia DeVault,Katie M. Snider
• Date: 01 June 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12109
• Published date: 01 June 2018

Environmental Considerations for

Trauma-Responsive Juvenile and Family

Courts: A Review of the Literature with

Recommendations for Practice

By Alicia DeVault, Vanessa A. Helfrick, Shawn C. Marsh, and Katie M. Snider

ABSTRACT

Juvenile and family courts serve some of our most vulnerable populations, many

of whom have experienced some traumatic event. People suffering with posttrau-

matic stress disorder (PTSD) are known to be more sensitive to environmental stim-

uli, and many of the environmental conditions within courts can be challenging for

those suffering traumatic stress. Trauma-responsive practices help foster conditions

of healing, which can benefit both the court user and those who work within the

court. Research reviewed in this article demonstrates the likelihood of negative

behavioral and emotional responses to specific environmental factors for people suf-

fering PTSD and other stress reactions, and offers recommendations to minimize

environmental stressors.

Key words: juvenile, family, courts, environment, trauma.

Alicia DeVault is a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Social Psychology Ph.D. program at the

University of Nevada - Reno.

Vanessa A. Helfrick, M.S., CFLE, is a Site Coordinator for Communities In Schools of Western

Nevada.

Shawn C. Marsh, Ph.D., is the Director of Judicial Studies and Associate Professor of Communica-

tion Studies and Social Psychology, University of Nevada - Reno.

Katie M. Snider is a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Social Psychology Ph.D. program at

the University of Nevada - Reno.

The concept and initial outline for this article was produced in part with support by cooperative

agreement number 2012-MU-MU-K001 with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to

the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) when the 1st through 3rd authors

served as a research assistant, intern, and employee, respectively. Points of view or opinions expressed in this

article are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States

Department of Justice, the NCJFCJ, or the University of Nevada - Reno.

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 69, No. 2

©2018 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

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Juvenile and family courts are charged with the administration of justice for some

of our most vulnerable populations. Cases within the purview of these courts typically

include dependency, delinquency, status offenses, divorce, and custody cases that often

involve myriad challenging social issues such as domestic violence and substance abuse.

Although it is not clear how many victims of potentially traumatic experiences appear in

these courts as either a “victim” or an “offender,” data suggest it could be substantial.

For example, research suggests that one in three women and one in four men has or will

experience domestic violence in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011), and that up to 60% of

families that experience either domestic violence or child maltreatment actually experi-

ence both forms of violence (Bragg, 2003). In another study, over 90% of justice-

involved youth reported at least one trauma (Rosenberg et al., 2014). Further, in 2015

there were 5 million reported incidents of violent victimizations in persons 12 years or

older in the United States (Truman & Morgan, 2016). Given these numbers, it is likely

that individuals experiencing some sort of trauma are represented in the estimated over

one million delinquency cases and 109,000 status offense cases (in 2013; Hockenberry &

Puzzanchera, 2015), and the roughly 4.6 million dependency and divorce/custody cases

heard in the United States (in 2015; Court Statistics Project, 2017).

With advances in our understanding of how adversity and trauma impact human

development and functioning, courts are increasingly interested in becoming more

trauma-responsive (aka “trauma-informed”). To this end, researchers have worked to

develop a conceptual framework for further exploration of trauma-responsive justice.

Specifically, researchers and practitioners both have proposed that (1) the uncertainty

surrounding the exact number of persons with trauma touching the courts calls for a

public health universal precautions approach; and (2) certain conditions of healing are

nurtured when courts focus on issues of safety, self-determination, and social connected-

ness across the domains of environment, practice, policy, and persons (Marsh & Byer,

2013; Marsh, Dierkhising, Decker, & Rosiak, 2015; and Marsh, Summers, DeVault, &

Villalobos, 2016).

The purpose of the present article is to review the literature and offer recommenda-

tions regarding the environmental component of this conceptual framework. Specifically,

we concentrate on the literature regarding how social environment, physical environ-

ment, and the interaction between the two might impact the experience of those suffer-

ing from traumatic stress as well as overall health outcomes. This literature is extremely

diverse and detailed, and it is beyond the scope of this article to cover every conceivable

application of environmental factors to human functioning. That said, we focus on the

more common components of environment and their potential applications to courts.

Research on environment within the court context is limited, so we also draw upon the

existing basic and applied literature from other fields to guide our recommendations to

help limit conditions that could be particularly challenging for those suffering traumatic

stress. Further, we offer a suggested roadmap for future research on social and physical

environments as they relate to courts.

In developing recommendations to reduce stress, decrease cognitive load, improve

comprehension, lessen anxiety, and reduce the risk of further exacerbating trauma symp-

toms, we suggest that these changes might benefit both individuals with history of

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