TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - Self-compassion as a potential mediator of shame and aggression in youth offenders JO - International journal of criminal justice sciences A1 - Hofmann, Sara A. A1 - Jeffries, Zoe J. SP - 1 EP - 14 VL - 17 IS - 2 N2 - Prior research has identified a strong link between experiences of shame and aggressive behavior in populations across the lifespan, but the mechanisms of this relationship are unclear. One potential mediator of this relationship is self-compassion, a teachable emotional regulation skill. This study aimed to investigate whether self-compassion served as a mediator between two specific aspects of the shame experience (negative self-evaluation and emotional discomfort) and aggressive behavior in this sample of adolescents. One hundred and fourteen adolescents in the Rocky Mountain region ages 11-18, referred to services from disciplinary agencies, participated in the study. Each completed the Adolescent Shame-Proneness Scale, the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, the Self-Compassion Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Bootstrapped mediation analysis revealed that self-compassion served as a significant mediator between both aspects of shame and aggression. Across both models, aspects of shame-proneness significantly predicted aggression in the initial analysis, but the addition of self-compassion as a mediator rendered those relationships non-significant.  These results suggest that self-compassion may be a viable target for intervention with at-risk and legally-involved adolescents exhibiting externalizing symptoms as well as internalizing symptoms.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0973-5089 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4756106 ID - ref1 ER -