The Relationship between Empathy and Substance Use, Mental Health and Crime in a Sample of Canadian Offenders

• In Event: The Basic Empathy Scale and its Application in Criminological Research

Abstract

The goal of this study was to measure the association between empathy using the Basic Empathy Scale (BES; Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006) and to relate BES scores to official records of criminal offending in a sample of Canadian offenders. Study participants were 900 adult male inmates who served their custodial sentences between 2012 and 2018 at a correctional treatment centre. This presentation will describe the relationships between the BES and measured risk and need variables, including historical and post-release criminal conviction data. In addition, comparative analyses will be undertaken between sex- and non-sex offenders in terms of affective and cognitive empathy and their pre- and post-admission offending profiles. Results will be discussed in reference to previous research on the BES with an emphasis on how the BES can be used to inform evidence-based correctional treatment.

Author

• Christopher J. Koegl, CJK Consulting