How juvenile recidivism is influenced by trauma and counseling: A meta-analysis

Trauma is an issue that impacts people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic statuses; however, individuals who have been incarcerated often have experienced higher rates of trauma. More specifically, children are at a heightened risk for being impacted by the experience of trauma. This thesis conducted a meta-analysis to explore if the experience of trauma increased an individual’s likelihood of committing a juvenile offense and recidivating, as well as if counseling juvenile offenders with trauma history decreases their recidivism. Using beta, this meta-analysis was able to determine that trauma does have a positive relationship to an individual’s juvenile offense and recidivism rates, meaning that as trauma increases so too does the likelihood an individual will commit an offense or recidivate. Likewise, counseling had a negative relationship with recidivism, meaning that more counseling predicts less recidivism of individuals who had experienced trauma. Limitations and practice implications are also discussed.