Relationship between shame and aggression within a male juvenile offender population,

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between high and low levels of internalized shame and high and low levels of aggression among a group of male juvenile offenders in a maximum-security correctional facility. The Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) was used to measure levels of internalized shame. Two separate aggression scores were used to measure aggression. The first divided each participant's committing offense(s) into a high or low aggression category based on severity. The second score categorized the number of security stays for each participant into high and low aggression categories. Additional issues explored were the relationship between white and minority grouping and the ISS scores. The sample consisted of60 incarcerated male juvenile offenders (37 white and 23 minority) ranging in age from 12-20. Chi-square analysis failed to confirm a relationship between ISS scores and offense aggression scores, ~2(1, N = 60) = 1.28, p> .05. Chi-square analysis also failed to confirm a relationship between ISS scores and security aggression scores, ~2(1,N = 60) = 1.47, P > .05. No significant difference between racial groups and the ISS scores were found. The results suggest caution when interpreting ISS scores with a juvenile offender population.