Abstract

Background - Justice involved youth exposed to multiple forms of victimization (i.e., poly-victimization) may beat risk for long term substance use problems and difficulty in self-regulation, placing them at higher risk of long-term problematic behaviors. This study empirically identifies victimization classifications in a sample of justiceinvolved youth and how long-term binge drinking is related to victimization experiences. We further sought tounderstand how self-regulatory abilities such as impulse control and emotion regulation effect emergent profilesand binge drinking trajectories. Methods - Based on a sample of 1354 justice involved youth from 15 to 25 years old, classes of victimization wereextracted. Emergent classes were examined in relationship to their binge drinking trajectories using latentgrowth models. Finally, self-regulation was examined as a predictor of binge drinking trajectories acrossemergent classes. Results - The analyses indicated three classes of victimization - poly-victimized, indirectly victimized, and lowlyvictimized. Latent growth models revealed that the poly-victimized class had significantly steeper growth inbinge drinking as compared to the indirect and low victimized patterns. Impulse and emotional regulation bothsignificantly decelerated binge drinking only for the indirect victimization group. Conclusions - Findings highlight the need to focus on poly-victimization in understanding binge drinking tra-jectories as well as the role impulse control and emotional regulation play among justice involved youth. Findings are discussed through the lens of adolescent development, coping strategies, and early traumatic experiences.