Trauma and Dissociation in Delinquent Adolescents

OBJECTIVES: To assess history of trauma and dissociation in a group of juvenile delinquents and to assess how adolescents would respond to a structured interview for dissociative symptoms. METHOD: Sixty-four adolescents in juvenile probation hall participated in 2 investigational sessions in 1996-1997. For session 1 they answered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Response Evaluation Measure for Youth-71 (REMY-71), and the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory. For session 2 they were given the Childhood Trauma Interview (CTI) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D). RESULTS: In this sample 28.3% met criteria for a dissociative disorder and 96.8% endorsed a history of traumatic events. There were significant positive correlations between CTI and CTQ trauma scores and SCID-D and REMY-71 dissociative symptoms. All dissociative symptoms were endorsed, but depersonalization was the most common experience. There was a lack of congruence between the different methods of assessing dissociation. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides support for an early link between history of trauma and dissociation. Adolescents were able to answer questions from a structured interview assessing dissociation.