Exploring Risk and Protective Factors of Justice-Involved Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Background: Young women in the juvenile justice system (JJS) have unique needs for rehabilitation given their increased risk of experiencing poor behavioral health statuses, exposure to interpersonal violence, and histories of sexual trauma (Walker & Holtfreter, 2016; Khurana, Cooksey, & Gavazzi, 2011). While literature has begun to explore the characteristics of young women involved in the JJS, little attention has been paid to those women who may be pregnant or parenting at the time that they come into contact with the JJS (Gray, Holmes, & Bradford, 2016). Given the unique constellation of risk factors that young mothers may experience, in combination with risks for juvenile justice involvement, these women will likely have an even more complex set of needs, requiring enhanced specialized services. In order to better understand the types of services that this population may require, this study presents an exploratory analysis of risk factors associated with court-involved pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers.

Method: Data were extracted from intake data at a Southeastern parenting program for adolescents involved in the JJS (n=185). Intake data represents women’s exposure to traumatic events, previous contacts with the justice system, women’s interaction with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and previous contacts with the JJS. As this population of mothers is under-identified within the literature, descriptive statistics were conducted to explore the population’s risk and protective factors, along with their history of involvement with the criminal justice system.

Results: Descriptive statistics for the women in this sample indicated that the majority were of young maternal age (M=16.64, SD= 1.08). Nearly half of the participants indicated that they were behind grade level at school (49.7%, n=92), and many have had current or previous involvement with DCF (45.9%, n=85). The majority of women in the sample have been previously arrested (88.6%, n= 164), and the average age at the time of their first arrest was 15.03 (SD= 1.55). In addition, the women in this sample have previously experienced a significant amount of traumatic life events. Here, the mean staff-administered ACE score was 5.7 (SD=2.53), with a mode of 14. In comparison to ACE scores, staff-administered resilience scores for the sample were low (M=2.95, SD=2.72), making specialized care an important part of their involvement with the JJS.

Conclusions: Findings in this study support existing knowledge surrounding descriptive characteristics of young women involved in the JJS. Young mothers may need additional services, targeted towards their unique life stage. Given the sample’s high ACE scores, and low resilience scores, women such as the ones in our sample may benefit from an empowerment-based approach to care. By implementing appropriate psychosocial care for young mothers involved in the JJS, we may help to promote the healthy development of children who may be at a particularly high risk of poor outcomes. This presentation will discuss suggested approaches to psychosocial care for this unique subpopulation, including an adapted version of the Yale Minding the Baby™ intervention and intensive home-visitation, and offer evidence of successful outcomes based on preliminary data.