Trauma and Dissociation Among Sexually Abusive Juveniles: Exploring the Relationships Between Victimization, Trauma-related Symptoms, and Sexual Offenses

Elevated levels of dissociative symptoms, e.g., amnesia and depersonalization, have been found to be a predictor of violent behavior in some studies. Traumatic dissociation-dissociation which results from traumatic stress-has been understudied among juvenile offenders and sexually abusive youth, despite the fact that high numbers of incarcerated adolescents have been exposed to multiple types of trauma. This research offers theoretical and clinical insights into the relationships between different types of childhood victimization, dissociation and trauma related disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorders, and subsequent offending behaviors in a large sample of delinquent youth and adolescent sex offenders. Preliminary links are established between dissociation and traumatic stress in this population, and a model is advanced that indicates a significant relationship between dissociation and adolescent sexual offending. Additionally, the author reviews the historical and contemporary conceptualizations of dissociation and offers a discussion of the possible racial and ethnic differences in dissociative symptoms.