while males constitute the majority , female adolescent offenders are a sizeable minority of the overall delinquent population . further , those females who become involved in delinquent activities appear to be doing so at a younger age , and they are involved in a wide range of criminal activities , including violent offenses . the goal of this article is to consolidate an empirical base for our current knowledge about female juvenile offenders trauma - related mental health and rehabilitation issues . we searched for studies using pilots , psyclit , psycinfo , and ebscohost electronic databases . accordingly , we present a review of findings from 33 recent studies showing consistently high rates of trauma exposure , ptsd , and common comorbidities among female adolescent offenders . we also examined recent literature on risk and protective factors for female delinquency , as well as treatments for offenders , and found that there was some early representation of trauma and ptsd as important variables to be considered in etiology and treatment . future plans for addressing the mental health needs of female offenders should be better informed by these recent findings about widespread trauma exposure and related psychological consequences . in the past 10 years an impressive number ( 33 ) of new studies on female offenders trauma exposure and related mental health issues have emerged . further , nearly one - fourth of these new studies are from non - us sources . key findings from our review of these studies indicate that severe exposure from multiple types of trauma is most often found among these young women , and that ptsd rates generally exceed 30% . high prevalence rates for other comorbidities , such as depression , substance abuse , anxiety , and suicidality are also reported . given the extensiveness of these findings , it seems clear that severe trauma exposure and serious mental health sequelae are to be expected in high proportions of incarcerated female offenders , both in international and us forensic settings . while there is modest representation of trauma exposure and related psychological disorders among studies of etiology for female delinquency , present treatments for offenders do not specifically target trauma effects . we hope that the results of this review will encourage the inclusion of trauma as a prominent consideration in future treatment planning for female offenders . there is no conflict of interest in the present study for any of the authors .
backgroundwhile males constitute the majority , female adolescent offenders are a sizeable minority of the overall delinquent population . 
 further , those females who become involved in delinquent activities appear to be doing so at a younger age , and they are involved in a wide range of criminal activities , including violent offenses.objectivethe goal of this article is to consolidate an empirical base for our current knowledge about female juvenile offenders trauma - related mental health and rehabilitation issues.methodwe searched for studies using pilots , psyclit , psycinfo , and ebscohost electronic databases.resultsaccordingly , we present a review of findings from 33 recent studies showing consistently high rates of trauma exposure , ptsd , and common comorbidities among female adolescent offenders . 
 we also examined recent literature on risk and protective factors for female delinquency , as well as treatments for offenders , and found that there was some early representation of trauma and ptsd as important variables to be considered in etiology and treatment.conclusionfuture plans for addressing the mental health needs of female offenders should be better informed by these recent findings about widespread trauma exposure and related psychological consequences .