Relationships among childhood trauma, perceived barriers to completing high school, and college aspirations for incarcerated youth.

BACKGROUND

Exposure to trauma can result in lower school engagement and aspiration for youth. Incarcerated youth face additional barriers to academic success due to the substandard nature of facility schooling and challenges to school re-entry after incarceration. This study seeks to examine the relationships among history of trauma, including maltreatment and/or parental incarceration, and school aspirations and barriers for incarcerated youth.

METHODS

Data are from the Multidimensional Residential Youth Inventory (MRYI), a survey of 253 youth placed in juvenile residential facilities in Western Pennsylvania conducted from June 2009 through February 2010. Six hypotheses were tested related to childhood trauma (specifically, maltreatment and parental incarceration) and its effects on perceived barriers to finishing high school and expectations to attend college.

RESULTS

Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that incarcerated youth who reported more childhood maltreatment were more likely to perceive that certain barriers could prevent them from finishing high school. Specifically, the most prevalent perceived barriers were related to academic ability and peer or teacher conflict. In contrast, childhood trauma was not associated with youths' expectations to attend college.

DISCUSSION: Findings support the importance of understanding how trauma manifests in youth behavior, of divesting from carceral responses to youth behavior, and of investing in known protective factors such as supportive families, schools, and communities to mitigate potential educational barriers presented in the context of childhood trauma.