Elizabeth T. Sexton

As rates of juvenile delinquency continue to rise, attitudes about appropriate consequences are becoming more simplistic. Research suggests, however, that the same delinquent behavior may have difef rent causes, one of the most salient being a history of chronic maltreatment. Although the school is in a unique position to offer effective interventions for these troubled and troubling young people, educators often are not aware of the connection between past abuse and current behavior. Unfortunately, interventions thus often address the symptoms rather than bringing the positive resources available in schools to bear upon the ongoing aftershocks of a history of abuse. The author of this article outlines recent research on the maltreatment-delinquency connection. She follows this by providing intervention strategies that have been found to be useful for traumatized children as a framework for influencing our thinking about school-based interventions.