(PS6-27) Trauma Screening with Adolescents Experiencing Justice System Involvement: Violence Exposure and Trauma Loss as a Pathway to Comprehensive Service Access

Adolescents with justice system involvement (AJSI) experience high rates of lifetime traumatic event exposures (TEEs), with 90% reporting potentially traumatic events, and each person experiencing four events on average (Abram et al., 2004; Ford et al., 2008). Previous studies have pinpointed common TEEs, specifically traumatic loss/separation and victimization. Both direct and indirect interpersonal TEEs are associated with increased mental health burden and psychosocial consequences (see Feierman & Ford, 2016). While trauma screening in Juvenile Justice settings are increasing, specific TEE associations and service needs remain unclear. The study utilized data from 1,186 adolescents aged 10 to 20 years old who underwent trauma screening from March 2020 to September 2021 as part of a juvenile probation intake process.The Child Trauma Screen (CTS), a 10-item rapid trauma screening tool (Lang et al., 2016) was administered to screen for TEEs (i.e., witnessing violence, sexual abuse) and trauma symptoms within the past 30 days. The sample was primarily male (n = 904, 76.2%) and the average age at intake was 15.92 years (SD = 1.72). Much of the sample (62.8%, n = 745) identified as White, with 36% (n = 431) identifying as Black, or Multiracial (12.4%, n = 147). Most youth (n = 756, 63.7%) were referred for a nonviolent offense. In addition to the CTS, a subset of the sample also completed the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument 2 (MAYSI-2) to screen for co-occurring mental health and substance use problems, and all youth were rated for delinquency risk factors using the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI). Focusing on endorsed TEEs through the CTS, 33.6% of the sample reported experiencing both violence exposure (VE) and trauma loss (TL) (χ² (1, N = 997) = 5.444, p = .020). AJSI endorsing VE were 1.4 times more likely to endorse TL compared to AJSI not endorsing VE (OR = 1.472, 95% CI [1.06 - 2.04]). The full sample was grouped into those experiencing violence and TL (n = 292) compared to those experiencing other TEEs (n = 705) and compared on other screening tool results and delinquency risk. AJSI with VE and TLwere more likely to be screened for probable PTSD via the CTS (χ² (1, N = 997) = 90.877, p < .001, OR = 3.894) and identified as critical cases via the MAYSI-2 (χ² (1, N = 997) = 97.331, p < .001, OR = 3.895), reflecting multiple mental health needs areas warranting follow-up. Additionally, AJSI in the VE and loss group were more likely to be rated by intake juvenile probation officers as having elevated delinquency risk needs. To illustrate, a greater proportion of AJSI experiencing violence and TL were rated as moderate or high risk on YLS: Personality/Behavior Risk Numeric Category (χ² (2, N = 997) = 72.560, p < .001) and Peer Relationships (χ² (2, N = 997) = 46.228, p < .001) risk domains. AJSI reporting lifetime violence and trauma show elevated mental health needs and delinquency risks compared to peers with other traumatic experiences. This highlights the necessity for comprehensive post-trauma assessments, including mental health evaluations, and tailored trauma-informed case planning. Effective support requires interventions targeting their unique experiences.