Shame, Aggression, and Self-compassion in At-risk Adolescent

Prior research has identified a strong link between experiences of shame and aggressive behavior in at-risk and offender populations but the mechanisms of this relationship are unclear. One potential interrupter of this relationship is self-compassion, a teachable emotional regulation skill. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether nonoffender at-risk youth differed significantly in levels of self-compassion, shame, and aggression from nonviolent offender and violent offender youth with the goal of evaluating these relationships to aid in the future development of more tailored and effective interventions for court-involved youth. One hundred and six at-risk adolescents in the Rocky Mountain region completed self-report questionnaires on experiences of shame, aggression, self-compassion, and criminal history. Multivariate analysis revealed main effects of gender in experiences of shame and main effects of offender status on all measures. These findings highlighted the importance of tailoring treatment for young offenders by specific characteristics such as offense type and gender in order to reach maximum efficiency. Other implications of these findings for clinical work and further research were also discussed.