The Urgency Loop: A Trauma-Primed Reinforcement Cycle in Dually Involved Youth

Youth who are simultaneously engaged in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems—commonly referred to as dually involved youth—face disproportionately high rates of trauma exposure, psychiatric comorbidity, and adverse developmental outcomes. Traditional accounts of juvenile impulsivity often emphasize sensation seeking or underdeveloped executive function, portraying defiance as a product of poor judgment or deliberate noncompliance. Emerging evidence, however, highlights the role of negative urgency, defined as rash action in response to distress, as a more precise explanatory construct. This paper develops and applies the concept of the Urgency Loop, a cyclical process in which trauma-induced emotional dysregulation drives impulsive actions aimed at short-term relief, producing long-term negative consequences that reinforce distress and perpetuate maladaptive patterns.Drawing from neuroscience, developmental psychology, and criminology, the Urgency Loop framework situates behaviors such as runaway episodes, aggression, and substance use not as thrill-seeking but as relief-seeking adaptations to overwhelming affective states. This reorientation challenges prevailing juvenile justice interpretations of 'willful defiance,' which often justify punitive sanctions and surveillance. Instead, the framework underscores how trauma reshapes limbic–prefrontal circuitry, heightens vulnerability to negative urgency, and interacts with systemic responses to exacerbate cycles of involvement.This manuscript reviews theoretical models of impulsivity, empirical findings on trauma and neurodevelopment, and critiques of trauma-informed practice. It further explores implications for juvenile justice reform, including the potential utility of ecological momentary assessment, ethical considerations of pharmacological interventions, and the need for more nuanced adjudicative approaches. By reframing impulsive behavior as a neurobiological adaptation to distress rather than intentional rebellion, this work seeks to inform interventions that are more effective, equitable, and developmentally appropriate.