Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Education

Supervisor

Leschied, Alan D.

Abstract

A large portion of justice-involved youth have previously been involved with the child welfare system; termed crossover youth. What is less understood is the trajectory of crossing over and the potential role of mental health problems. Using the theories of developmental traumatology and Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy of antisocial behaviour, the present study investigated the ability of several factors to distinguish and predict crossover youth who develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study of 299 justice-involved youth, chi-squared analyses found that several factors were able to differentiate youth with PTSD and/or associated symptoms from those without. Logistic regression indicated that the number of maltreatment types significantly contributed to the prediction of clinically diagnosed PTSD, while the number of maltreatment types and the presence of sexual abuse significantly contributed to the prediction of a diagnosis or symptoms. The clinical and policy relevance for working with crossover youth is discussed.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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