Trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, and comorbidities in female adolescent offenders: findings and implications from recent studies.

Background: 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.

Objective: 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.