Betrayal Trauma and Gender: An Examination of the Victim-Offender Overlap.

Empirical research has demonstrated widespread support for the association between violent victimization and offending, or the "victim-offender overlap." This study adds to this body of research by applying the betrayal trauma framework to investigate whether the relationship between the victim and perpetrator impacts the presence of the victim-offender overlap and whether these effects differ across gender. Specifically, this study utilizes a series of binary logistic regressions to investigate (a) whether violent victimization is associated with violent offending, (b) whether this relationship varies by victim-perpetrator relationship (familial vs. nonfamilial vs. both), and (c) whether the impact of this relationship varies across gender. Data come from the third and most recent wave of the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV III; n = 1,949). Results indicate that violent victimization is associated with violent offending. When disaggregated by perpetrator-type, the results show that experiencing familial-only perpetrated violence and experiencing both familial and nonfamilial perpetrated violence are significantly associated with violent offending while experiencing nonfamilial-only perpetrated violence is not significantly associated with violent offending. Furthermore, the results indicate that the effects of the perpetrator-victim relationship vary across gender, such that the impacts of familial- and nonfamilial-only perpetrated violence were significantly weaker for males compared with females. The effects of experiencing violent victimization from both familial and nonfamilial perpetrators does not vary across genders. These findings lend support to a gender-specific betrayal trauma framework as well as research on the effects of cumulative victimization. Directions for future research and clinical implications are identified.

It's F**ing Chaos: COVID-19's Impact on Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice.

An early examination of the impact of COVID-19 on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice in America, this review provides initial scholarship to rapidly evolving areas of research. Our appraisals of these topics are made after nearly 2 months of national COVID-19 mitigation measures, like social distancing and limited "non-essential" movement outside the home but also as states are gradually lifting stricter directives and reopening economic sectors. We consider the impact of these pandemic-related changes on twenty-first century youths, their behaviors, and their separate justice system. To forecast the immediate future, we draw from decades of research on juvenile delinquency and the justice system, as well as from reported patterns of reactions and responses to an unprecedented and ongoing situation. As post-pandemic studies on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice proliferate, we urge careful consideration as to how they might influence societal and the system responses to youths' delinquency. Additional practical implications are discussed.

Examining the Contemporaneous, Short-Term, and Long-Term Effects of Secondary Exposure to Violence on Adolescent Substance Use.

The relationship between secondary exposure to violence-defined as witnessing violence in the home, community, or school-and adolescent substance use is well-documented. Yet, multi-wave empirical studies examining this relationship are sparse. In addition, studies have only begun to examine whether this relationship varies by the situational components of the violent event. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), this study examines the contemporaneous, short-term, and long-term effects of secondary exposure to violence on substance use, and whether witnessing violence in which a weapon is present has a different impact on adolescent substance use than does witnessing violence without a weapon. Hierarchical logistic regression models on a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 1670 youth (51.5% female) residing in 79 neighborhoods indicated that: (1) the effects of secondary exposure to violence on alcohol and marijuana use were enduring, albeit attenuated, over time; (2) the effect of secondary exposure to violence on illicit drug use was suppressed in the short-term but significant in the long-term; (3) witnessing violence without a weapon was salient for alcohol and marijuana use at all time points; and (4) witnessing violence with a weapon impacted illicit drug use in the long-term. The results suggest that addressing the consequences of secondary exposure to violence requires prolonged intervention efforts and that the study of secondary exposure to violence requires a more nuanced approach that accounts for situational aspects of the violent event.