Blame Attribution Mediates the Association Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Offending in Justice-Involved Male Youth

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Juvenile Mental Health and Well-Being: Social Support and the Influence of Traits

Abstract

Much work has focused on identifying predictors of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, as these affective deficits are linked to future offending behavior, among other negative socioemotional outcomes. However, few viable mediators have been identified between CU traits and offending. One potential mechanism could lie in the way youth attribute blame for their actions: either accepting blame and holding guilt internally, or attributing the cause of their delinquent behavior to an outside factor.
Using data from the Crossroads Study (N = 1,216), a longitudinal study of justice-involved male youth, mediation analyses tested whether CU traits were indirectly related to offending (self-reported) through blame attribution. Overall, higher CU traits predicted more external blame (i.e., lower blame attribution) one year later (b = -.128, p < .001); this lower blame attribution predicted greater offending behavior a year after that (b = -.116, p = .002). Overall, blame explained 14.6% of this association.
These findings suggest that higher levels of CU traits may affect guilt and responsibility feelings toward previous crimes, which in turn increases offending. A better understanding of personal responsibility, remorse, and guilt can inform sentencing decisions, policy, and future interventions for at-risk youth.

Authors

• Scarlet Jinae Cho, University of California, Irvine

• Tristan Sodkomkum, University of California, Irvine

• Teresa Verduzco-Villa, University of California, Irvine

• Lilibeth Martinez, University of California, Irvine

• Diana Vallelunga, University of California, Irvine

• Elizabeth E. Cauffman, University of California, Irvine