Position Paper 2023

Transdisciplinary Research for Youth Justice – Position Paper 2023 19 educational intervention opportunities when a child or young person reaches a custodial setting, and needs greater research attention. 4.2 From a psychological perspective Charlie identifies a key memory from an early age of ‘feeling scared’; he was scared of his older brother and also of his step-father due to unpredictable and violent behaviour from both of these key figures in his early developmental history. His mum then blamed Charlie for his brother being taken into care and so his connection with her was also disrupted. Bowlby (1969) believed that all human beings have an innate need to connect with others and experience a relationship with a caregiver; this relationship fulfils a biological need and has an evolutionary adaptation (Goldberg, 2000). In his work with Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991) secure and insecure attachment styles were identified alongside the concept of ‘internal working models’. Our internal working model includes beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us; it also influences our expectations of ourselves and others, and thus how we respond to others. Bowlby (1980) explained that secure attachment leads to an internal working model of the self which emphasises core constructs that ‘I am lovable and interesting’ thus developing a trust in others and self-reliance. Conversely, infants and children that develop an insecure attachment style as a result of their needs not being met experience difficulties in trusting others and a negative self- perception. Charlie’s experience of his primary care givers was not that of safety; as time passed, his mum also became a source of fear as she was unable to keep him safe from his stepfather. These early traumatic experiences will have influenced his developing view of self and his ability to trust and rely on others. This link between Charlie’s developing core identity (through his internal working model) and key events in his life are likely to have resulted in developmental trauma. Brunzell, Stokes and Waters, (2016) define trauma as arising from an external threat which a CYP may witness or directly experience; examples from Charlie’s life include physical aggression from close family members, early abuse and loss of important sibling relationships including his relationship with his sisters. According to Day (2018), Charlie’s life experiences would be defined within the realm of complex trauma due to his multiple and prolonged exposure to traumatic events which began in his early childhood. These experiences are likely to have been exacerbated by the potential of re-traumatisation through being in care due to bullying and violence (Masoom Ali et al. , 2020); such as that experienced by Charlie when he was placed in a children’s home and foster care placements. The importance of taking a developmentally informed approach to an understanding of trauma is emphasised by Toof,