| Juvenile Sex Offenders are an underrepresented group in psychology's empirical literature. The literature suggests that this population has a high prevalence of childhood abuse and neglect, leaving them vulnerable to posttraumatic symptomatology. Treatment often fails to recognize and address these youths' trauma symptoms. There is a preponderance of literature support documenting physiological and somatic effects of posttraumatic stress. Traditional therapies for trauma do not typically address these symptoms directly. This study endeavored to address the need for a holistic, adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress symptoms in this underrepresented population. Eleven juvenile sex offenders completed two sessions per week for five weeks of a trauma sensitive yoga intervention. Their trauma symptom and functioning scores were assessed with the Child PTSD Symptom Scale at baseline and after the final session. Paired t-test analysis showed significant decreases in trauma symptoms from pre-test to post-test. Daily functioning scores, however, did not demonstrate a significant change from baseline. |
