Associations among Trauma Exposure, Callous-Unemotionality, Race or Ethnicity, and Gang Involvement in Justice-Involved Youth

• NCJ Number: 302753
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Dated: 2020
• Date Published: 2020
• Author(s): L. Mendez; et al
• Grant Number(s): 2014-R2-CX-0020
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This study examined the association between trauma exposure and gang involvement and whether these interrelations were explained by callous-unemotionality (CU), and it also considered whether associations among these variables differed based on race or ethnicity. 

Abstract

A sample of 829 justice-involved youth (74 percent boys, 45 percent participants of color) recruited from a detention center completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, CU, and gang involvement. A moderated mediation analysis indicated that CU helped explain the association between trauma exposure and gang involvement for non-Hispanic White participants only. In contrast, the direct association between trauma exposure and gang involvement was significant across racial or ethnic groups. These findings highlight the importance of a trauma-informed perspective on intervening and preventing gang involvement among youth. (publisher abstract modified)