Newcomers to Unwelcoming Lands: A Conceptual Review of the Dimensions of Discrimination Experienced by Refugee Youth and the Processes Imparting Risk and Resilience.

In 2018, half of refugees worldwide were under the age of 18. Although often resilient, refugee youth experience chronic and pervasive traumatic events prior to and during migration, and are at risk for continued victimization and stressors while in their host country. In particular, refugee youth encounter ongoing discrimination during resettlement, a primary stressor that reduces their wellbeing and adaptation. Given the relevance of discrimination for refugee youth, the goal of the current review is to increase our understanding of the dimensions of discrimination faced by refugee youth and the risk and resilience processes that may be involved in these negative experiences. Thus, this review presents the existing theoretical and empirical research on this topic and creates a model that organizes these findings. The present review concludes with recommendations for prevention and intervention efforts and considerations for future research.

Gang Membership Among Adolescents from Distinct Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds: The Roles of Neighborhood Conditions and Victimization.

Adolescent gang participation has been noted as a major public health concern. Therefore, researchers have placed a growing emphasis on identifying processes that propel adolescents toward gang membership. Previous studies have highlighted as relevant risk factors victimization experiences as well as neighborhood conditions, which reflect sociopolitical and socioeconomic disparities and precipitate social disorganization. However, research to date has not considered potential dynamic interrelations among these risk factors, which are suggested by an integrated trauma-informed developmental-ecological perspective. Additionally, given that minoritized youth are disproportionately represented in gangs and differentially exposed to many of the risk factors for gang membership, it is important to examine whether gang membership pathways are similar or distinct across racial and ethnic groups. In order to address these gaps, the present study examined longitudinal self-report data, including neighborhood conditions (Baseline), direct and witnessed victimization (12-month follow-up), and gang membership versus nonmembership (24-month follow-up) gathered from 1,284 adolescents identified as serious offenders (22% non-Hispanic White, 36% Latinx, and 43% African American) who participated in the Pathways to Desistance Study. Findings from structural equation modeling showed that pathways toward gang membership were similar across racial and ethnic groups. Results further demonstrated that neighborhood conditions increased the likelihood of adolescent gang participation through direct and witnessed victimization. These findings highlight the value of examining gang membership from an integrated trauma-informed developmental-ecological frameworks. Further, these findings emphasize the need for prevention and intervention initiatives at different levels of the social ecology.

Conduct Problems As a Pathway From Childhood Adversity to Community Violence Exposure: The Protective Roles of Caregiver Knowledge and Involvement.

Exposure to community violence (ECV) poses a prevalent threat to the health and development of adolescents. Research indicates those who have more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are at higher risk for ECV, which further exacerbates risk of negative mental and physical health impacts. Additionally, those with more ACEs are more likely to exhibit conduct problems, which has also been linked to risk for ECV. Despite the prevalence and impact of ECV, there is limited longitudinal research on the risk factors that precede this exposure as well as family-level factors that may prevent it. The current study examined conduct problems as a potential mediator between ACEs and future indirect (i.e. witnessing) ECV in adolescents. Additionally, this study included caregiver factors, such as caregiver knowledge about their adolescent, caregiver involvement, and caregiver-adolescent relationship quality as potential protective moderators. Participants included (N = 1137) caregiver-adolescent dyads identified as at-risk for child maltreatment prior to child's age four for inclusion in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Conduct problems at age 14 mediated the relationship between ACEs from ages 0-12 and indirect ECV at age 16 (standardized indirect effect = .03, p = .005). Caregiver knowledge moderated the indirect relationship (b = -.40, p = .030), and caregiver involvement moderated the direct relationship between ACEs and indirect ECV (b = -.03, p = .033). Findings expand our knowledge about the longitudinal pathways that increase risk of violence exposure over the course of adolescent development, as well as the protective benefits caregivers can offer to disrupt these pathways and reduce risk of future traumatization. Implications are discussed for interventions that aim to address and prevent trauma and adverse outcomes among youth exposed to child maltreatment, household dysfunction, and community violence.

Parallel Process of Posttraumatic Stress and Externalizing Problems Among Youth at High Risk for Victimization.

Research shows comorbidity between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and externalizing problems among polyvictimized youth. However, the impact of polyvictimization on the longitudinal co-development of PTSS and distinct forms of externalizing problems remains unclear. Growth trajectory modeling was used to address this gap. At ages 8, 12, and 16, polyvictimization was measured using youth, caregiver, and official records; whereas youth self-reported PTSS and caregivers reported aggression and delinquency. Results demonstrate that changes in PTSS and each externalizing domain were independent. Further, polyvictimization and PTSS/aggression were only associated at concurrent time points. In contrast, polyvictimization and delinquency were generally associated at concurrent and distal time points, suggesting that polyvictimization may have a more enduring impact on youths' delinquent behaviors than other symptoms.

Beyond Trauma Exposure: Discrimination and Posttraumatic Stress, Internalizing, and Externalizing Problems Among Detained Youth.

According to the race-based traumatic stress model, racial discrimination is proposed to comprise a traumatic experience that results in posttraumatic stress symptoms, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems among youth. Accordingly, a significant body of research has emerged that supports the associations among these constructs. However, the majority of these empirical studies have not accounted for the potential role of traditionally defined traumatic events in these associations. This study investigated whether self-reported racial discrimination was related to posttraumatic stress symptoms, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms above and beyond the impact of other trauma exposures in a sample of 266 detained youth (79% boys, 60% identified as an ethnic minority). Results of hierarchical linear regressions demonstrated that, after accounting for youths' other trauma exposures, racial discrimination accounted for significant variance in the models predicting delinquency and risk-taking but no other externalizing and internalizing problems, or posttraumatic stress symptoms. These findings indicate that racial discrimination may be particularly important for understanding offending behavior among detained youth.

Feasibility and promise of community providers implementing home-based parent-child interaction therapy for families investigated for child abuse: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence supporting Parent-Child Interaction Therapy's (PCIT) effectiveness for maltreatment prevention, its integration in child welfare services (CWS) has been challenging. OBJECTIVE: Using a pilot randomized controlled trial design, we evaluated the (1) feasibility of training therapists from CWS providers to implement home-based PCIT (2) feasibility of retaining parent-child dyads at-risk for child abuse in voluntary PCIT services, and (3) promise of PCIT for improving parenting skills. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Between 2015-2017, 23 therapists from CWS providers and 55 caregiver-child dyads who were determined to be at moderate-to-high risk for physical and/or emotional abuse, remained in the same home, and were referred for voluntary parenting services following a child protective investigation participated. METHODS: We trained 14 therapists in home-based PCIT and randomly assigned participating dyads to receive PCIT or services as usual (SAU). Dyads completed baseline and post-treatment assessments, including self-reported and observed parenting skills. RESULTS: All therapists successfully completed the PCIT training; none completed full certification requirements. Of all randomized dyads, 51 % completed at least one treatment session, and the mean number of treatment sessions was 10.83. Caregivers assigned to PCIT used more self-reported (d = .72) and observed (d = .59) positive parenting skills post-treatment than caregivers assigned to SAU. Negative, inconsistent, and punitive parenting strategies and parenting stress did not significantly differ between caregivers assigned to PCIT and SAU. CONCLUSIONS: Despite several challenges to feasibly implementing PCIT in community-based child welfare settings, even a small dose of PCIT improved positive parenting skills among at-risk parent-child dyads.

Associations Among Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Dissociation, Reckless/Self-Destructive Behavior, and Adolescent Offending.

Previous research has established that trauma exposure and subsequent posttraumatic stress symptoms confer risk for adolescent offending and involvement in the juvenile justice system. However, recent research and theory have called attention to the contributions of specific posttraumatic reactions, including posttraumatic dissociation (PD) and reckless or self-destructive behavior (RSDB), to offending behavior among adolescents. Therefore, this study investigated direct and indirect associations among trauma exposure, PD, RSDB, and offending in a sample of justice-involved adolescents. Participants were 301 adolescents (Mage = 16.03, SD = 1.24; 21% girls) recruited from a detention center in the Mountain West. The sample was racially and ethnic diverse, with 63% identifying as a racial or ethnic minority. Youth completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, PD, RSDB, and offending. As hypothesized, results of multiple mediation analysis demonstrated a significant indirect effect linking trauma exposure and offending through PD and RSDB. Results testing an alternative multiple mediation model were non-significant. These findings suggest that PD and RSDB may serve as key links accounting for the association between trauma exposure and offending behavior and reinforce the value of incorporating trauma-informed practices within juvenile justice systems.

Parenting Stress through the Lens of Different Clinical Groups: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis.

Research has demonstrated an association between parenting stress and child behavior problems, and suggested levels of parenting stress are higher among parents of children at risk for behavior problems, such as those with autism and developmental delay (ASD/DD). The goal of the present study was to conduct a systematic review of parenting stress and child behavior problems among different clinical groups (i.e., ASD/DD, chronic illness, with or at-risk for behavioral and/or mood disorders). We also examined demographic and methodological variables as moderators and differences in overall levels of parenting stress between the clinical groups. This systematic review documents a link between parenting stress and child behavior problems with an emphasis on externalizing behavior. One-hundred thirty-three studies were included for quantitative analysis. Parenting stress was more strongly related to child externalizing (weighted ES r = 0.57, d = 1.39) than internalizing (weighted ES r = 0.37, d = 0.79) problems. Moderation analyses indicated that the association between parenting stress and behavior problems was stronger among studies which had mostly male and clinic-recruited samples. Overall, parenting stress levels were higher for parents of children with ASD/DD compared to parents of children from other clinical groups. Findings document the association between parenting stress and child behavior problems and highlight the importance of assessing parenting stress as part of routine care and throughout behavioral intervention programs, especially for groups of children at high risk for behavior problems, such as children with ASD/DD, in order to identify support for both the parent(s) and child.