Childhood trauma and offending

Beyond Youth Custody recently undertook an evidence review that identified a disproportionately high number of young people in the criminal justice system who have experienced trauma in childhood or adolescence.

Findings from the review have been distilled into two guides for practitioners to help them improve how they work with young people in trouble with the law, key messages from which are outlined here.

Childhood trauma and offending

Not only are traumatic experiences very common in the backgrounds of young offenders, but the impact of these experiences can narrow their life chances.

Many who offend have been victims themselves. But with the right support, even young people with some of the most negative stories of childhood trauma can be helped to access opportunities and reshape their futures.

People who have experienced trauma need appropriate support to guide them through the criminal justice system in order to address their offending behaviour. Only by ensuring that trauma is identified early, and through equipping staff to respond with appropriate support, can the system ensure it does not hinder young people's chances of moving on from crime.

Trauma-informed practice

Trauma-informed practice may involve awareness raising and training, the provision of safe environments, reducing the scope for re-traumatisation and the co-ordination of provision designed to increase resilience and support. Approaches can incorporate three key elements: an understanding of the prevalence of trauma; recognition of the effects of trauma on those affected and on those who work with them; and the design of services which are informed by this knowledge.

There are four key features of trauma-informed approaches:

1. Awareness, training and support

Trauma-informed practice involves equipping staff with knowledge about trauma and its effects, and supporting them in their work with potentially traumatised young people by ensuring there are mechanisms in place for individual monitoring and by promoting integrated teamwork.

Staff working intensively with young offenders should be assisted in building their own psychological resilience. It is important to acknowledge that particular young people may generate some negative feelings in staff, including frustration, despair and anger.

Staff need to be able to disclose and explore their emotions in a supportive environment to manage their feelings effectively.

2. Effective assessment

As trauma and mental health problems more generally are likely to influence the success of resettlement work, young people's mental health needs should be systematically screened for, and responded to, with timely provision of appropriate specialist support.

Structured mental health assessments should inform the planning of interventions with specific assessment for post-traumatic stress disorder, abuse and significant loss among violent offenders potentially beneficial if done carefully. Needs assessment should be linked to decisions about accessing support, rather than being part of a more general approach to fit young people into services that are available.

3. Engaging with young offenders

Awareness of trauma and its effects can usefully inform understanding of young offenders' challenging behaviour and can assist decisions about appropriate responses.

Violent or aggressive behaviour can sometimes be learnt by traumatised young people rather than indicating a lack of discipline or an absence of motivation to change. Punitive or reactive responses may then entrench problematic behaviour rather than address it, whereas support to build optimism, confidence and commitment can be more effective.

It is important to acknowledge both the degree of adversity faced by young offenders and the specific challenges in adapting to new situations. Developing trust between young people and staff is important to help them overcome poor coping responses that may undermine the effectiveness of any interventions.

4. The therapeutic window

Psychological interventions are most effective when provided during a "therapeutic window" -the stage when the young person is ready to address their difficulties. There is a balancing act between exposing them to challenges that promote psychological growth, while ensuring that those challenges are not so powerful as to reactivate the initial trauma and further diminish their capabilities.

Practitioners need to exert careful control over the psychological intensity of their work with a carefully managed, sequential approach to individual progress. Young people need to be given the opportunity to consolidate their psychological development before moving on to more challenging goals.

Impact of the right interventions

By addressing the emotional and psychological needs of young people, services can enable them to better manage their emotions and behaviour as a first step towards making other long-lasting positive changes in their lives. Trauma-informed approaches that seek to build young people's strengths and attachments can help to minimise the impact of their traumatic experiences, reducing the likelihood that they will continue to engage in high-risk and antisocial behaviour.

With more insight into how traumatised young people behave, staff can work more effectively with them, thereby helping them to gain an understanding of their behaviour, take responsibility for themselves and develop negotiated, positive relationships.

• By Pippa Goodfellow, Beyond Youth Custody programme manager, Nacro
  
• For more details, visit www.beyondyouthcustody.net/