The Role of Proneness to Guilt and Shame Among People in Custody in Promoting Restorative Justice Processes

Abstract

This research examined the role of guilt and shame proneness among people in custody in shaping attitudes toward restorative justice (RJ) and in predicting the effectiveness of RJ practices. Study 1 ( n = 110) examined the correlation between participant guilt and shame proneness and willingness to participate in an RJ process. It revealed that proneness to guilt, but not to shame, was correlated with willingness to participate in an RJ process. Mediational modeling showed that guilt proneness predicted willingness to participate in an RJ process via its strong correlation with regret and remorse. Study 2 ( n = 133) examined whether shame and guilt proneness affects the effectiveness of an RJ practice. It revealed that high guilt proneness predicted high willingness to participate in RJ, whereas shame proneness moderated the effectiveness of an RJ practice. These results can help practitioners and researchers develop interventions to promote the effectiveness of RJ programs.