Positive Caregiving Styles Attenuating Effects of Cumulative Trauma Among Youth Who Commit Sexual Crimes

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20952390
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20952390

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(16) 1755 –1778

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20952390

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Article

Positive Caregiving Styles

Attenuating Effects of

Cumulative Trauma Among

Youth Who Commit Sexual

Crimes

Jamie Yoder1, Adam Brown2, Melissa Grady3,

Rebecca Dillard4, and Natalie Kennedy1

Abstract

Among youth who commit sexual crimes, childhood trauma experiences have been

linked to a host of outcomes including trauma symptom expression. Furthermore,

research has begun assessing differential rates of cumulative adverse childhood

experiences (ACEs) between youth who commit sexual and non-sexual crimes. Yet,

few studies have comparatively examined rates of cumulative traumatic events using

more robust measures of adversity. There is scant research on outcomes associated

cumulative trauma among youth who commit sexual crimes including linkages to

trauma symptoms and how positive parenting styles (PCSs) can attenuate in this

relationship. This study aims to compare cumulative trauma experiences between

youth who commit sexual (n = 112) and non-sexual crimes (n = 224). Among youth

who commit sexual crimes, we test how PCSs mitigate or moderate the effects

of cumulative trauma on trauma symptoms. Results from independent samples t-

tests revealed significant group differences on singular and cumulative traumatic

experiences, and trauma symptomatology, where youth who commit sexual crimes

had higher rates of all. Stepwise linear regressions revealed mitigating effects of

maternal PCSs and tests of moderation revealed main and interaction effects, where

intermediate positive maternal caregiving styles for youth with higher cumulative

1Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA

2Hunter College, New York, USA

3Catholic University, Washington, DC, USA

4University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jamie Yoder, School of Social Work, Colorado State University, 117 Education, 1586 Campus Delivery,

Office 117, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.

Email: Jamie.Yoder@colostate.edu

952390IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20952390International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyYoder et al.

research-article2020

1756 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 66(16)

trauma were associated with greater trauma symptomatology. Implications and

limitations are discussed.

Keywords

juvenile sex offenders, trauma, caregiving, cumulative trauma, positive parenting styles

There are strong theoretical (Grady et al, 2016; Widom, 1989) and empirical links

(Barrett et al., 2014; Caspi et al., 2002) between early experiences of victimization and

adolescent delinquent behaviors. One specialized group of youth involved in the juve-

nile justice system includes those who commit sexual crimes and who also have histo-

ries marked with high rates of adversity (Anda et al., 2010; Seto & Lalumiere, 2010).

More recently, researchers have documented the prevalence of cumulative trauma

among youth who commit acts of sexual violence (Levenson et al., 2017) and its

impact on traumatic symptomatology for both sexual and non-sexual offenders (Brown

et al., 2020; Finkelhor et al., 2007a). Furthermore, although there is evidence noting

the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and caregiver relational prob-

lems among youth who commit sexual crimes (Grady et al., 2016, 2018; Wurtele et al.,

2014), little is known about how caregiver protective factors may mitigate trauma

experiences in youth, and in turn alter the developmental trajectories for youth who

experience trauma. Specifically, few studies have examined how positive caregiver

styles (PCSs) attenuate the effects of cumulative trauma events on trauma symptom-

atology. This study aims to (1) determine relative rates of trauma experiences, cumula-

tive trauma experiences, trauma symptomatology, and PCSs between youth who

commit sexual and non-sexual crimes and (2) examine how PCSs mitigate and moder-

ate relations between cumulative traumatic experiences and trauma symptomatology

among youth who commit sexual crimes.

Literature Review

Traumatic Events

Incarcerated youth are twice as likely to experience early life victimization relative to

the general population (Coleman & Stewart, 2010); approximately 40% to 80% of

adjudicated youth have histories marked with victimization or abuse (Currie & Tekin,

2006; Wasserman & McReynolds, 2011). Furthermore, many of these youth have

experienced multiple forms of adversity, referred to as cumulative trauma or poly-

victimization (Finkelhor et al., 2007a). One study found that incarcerated youth

(N = 64,329) were four times more likely to report four or more adverse childhood

experiences compared to the Kaiser Permanente insured individuals in the general

population (50% vs. 13%, respectively) (Baglivio et al., 2014).

Traumatic events and sexual violence. There is a now a notable body of literature linking

childhood traumatic events to youth sexual violence (Levenson et al., 2017; Seto &