Reintegrative Shaming Research Articles

Dams, barriers and beating yourself up: shame in groupwork for addressing sexual offending

ABSTRACTShame is a powerful emotional experience embedded in prevailing social and cultural norms. It is the judgement or fear of judgement for who we are rather than what we have done. Braithwaite proposes shame can be re-integrative or stigmatising, where re-integrative shaming condemns the behaviour not the person, to enable their re-entry into society. Shame is relevant to sexual offending and its treatment, yet little research has explored how it is expressed or responded to in treatment programmes. We applied conversation analysis and discourse analysis to examine expressions of shame in 12 video-recorded sessions of a court mandated groupwork programme addressing sexual offending. Both social workers and the other men on the programme distinguished between being a bad person (shame) and being responsible for a bad act (guilt) as a way to empathise with the individual, build motivation, instil hope and leverage optimism towards positive change. We demonstrate that shame constitutes topics, resources and actions drawn on to achieve the programme’s rehabilitative aims, including separating the person from the behaviour, as per re-integrative shaming, demonstrating empathy and congruence, and motivating change. We discuss the paradoxes and dilemmas of shame for practice that addresses sexual offending.

Parental attachment and truant rationalizations of antisocial behavior: findings from a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Theorists propose that young people are likely to offend when they rationalize antisocial behavior and that pro-social attachments to parents might modify this relationship. This research first assesses whether or not a truancy reduction program is able to modify the effects of a young person’s rationalizations on antisocial behavior and then explores if parental attachments impact this relationship. Data are from the Ability School Engagement Program (ASEP), a third-party policing intervention designed to reduce truancy and crime by increasing parental knowledge of education laws in a sample of 102 high truanting youth from Brisbane, Australia. The conferences also incoorporated restorative and reintegrative shaming practices, which have previously been theorized to impact rationalizing behaviors. We find that post-intervention measures of rationalizations are positively related to self-reported antisocial behavior for those in the experimental condition. The impact of rationalizations on antisocial behavior varied at different levels of parental attachment only for the experimental group, as the effect of rationalizations on antisocial behavior became stronger at higher levels of parental attachments. We conclude that those in the experiment with strong parental attachments may have used more rationalizations to engage in antisocial behavior to overcome some of the pro-social effects of the ASEP intervention.

Examining gender differences in reintegrative shaming theory: the role of shame acknowledgment

Reintegrative shaming theory operates on the assumption that shaming from important others is gendered: women are more likely than men to conform and desist from offending. This study examines the validity of this assumption using measures of parent shame, peer shame, and shame acknowledgment to determine the impact of shame on offending and conformity. Using waves six and seven of the National Youth Survey Family Study data, zero-inflated negative binomial modeling is employed to examine the impact of reintegrative shaming on female and male offending and non-offending behavior among a probability sample of adults (N = 1227). Parent shaming is not a significant predictor of offending, but peer shaming is influential. The relationship between gender and conformity was mediated by shame acknowledgement. Although the reintegrative shaming process is not as influential as the theory had predicted, the importance of shame for explaining prevalence in women is demonstrated.

The Criminal Self‐View: How Do Identity Discrepancies Affect Emotions and Projected Conformity Among Offenders?

Research indicates that mismatches between individuals’ identity standards and how they perceive others view them, or reflected appraisals (RAs), produce distress that individuals may attempt to alleviate by altering their behavior so as to achieve identity verification. While there has been a recent interest in understanding how individuals negotiate a criminal identity, little research has been conducted in naturalistic settings based on specific experiences and feedback received from others. We assess how discrepancies between one's criminal self‐view and RAs affect negative emotions and projected conformity after individuals are processed in the criminal justice system. Using a sample of 973 participants in the Australian Reintegrative Shaming Experiments, we find that discrepancies between criminal identities and RAs affect the amount of shame/guilt and embarrassment experienced by offenders and their projected conformity and that embarrassment mediates this relationship.

Exploring the efficacy of reintegrative shaming for non-predatory offending

Since Braithwaite advanced reintegrative shaming theory about 25years ago, the theory has almost invariably been retested only in relation to predatory offending. Few studies have tested the relevance of the theory for non-predatory offending. This study aims to explore the utility of reintegrative shaming theory in explaining non-predatory crimes. Our main research question was: is acknowledgement of shame apportioned by others associated with reduction in non-predatory offending? We used zero-inflated negative binomial modelling to analyse data from a national, longitudinal, population-based study of 1,726 adolescents. Overall, peer shame acknowledgement at age 18-21 was a significant predictor of no non-predatory offending at ages 21-27. Contrary to our expectation, however, similar recognition and incorporation of parental shame was not related to absence of such offending. Our findings add further weight to the validity of reintegrative shaming theory, showing its broader value explaining criminal behaviour-and desistance from it-beyond the original model.

Myths of restorative features in the Japanese justice system and society: the role of apology, compensation and confession, and application of reintegrative shaming

Restorative justice (RJ) has experienced rapid growth. Along with its development, myths about RJ have emerged. Although several scholars have challenged these, two myths about restorative features in the Japanese justice system and society—(1) the role of apology, compensation and confession; and (2) the application of reintegrative shaming—arguably remain pervasive. In this paper, we aim to advance a critical analysis of these two ostensibly restorative features of the Japanese justice system and society. We argue that the reality is more nuanced. We conclude by analysing why these myths have emerged and what functions they have performed.

The Nashville John School: Affective Governance and the Reintegrative Shaming Approach

Contemporary anti-prostitution campaigns focus on curtailing “the demand” by punishing sexual service consumers. One component of this approach is a diversion program, or “john school,” offered to those arrested for purchasing prostitution. This ethnography focuses upon the Nashville John School (NJS), which is comprised of informational presentations that educate johns about the risks associated with prostitution. I examine how the NJS utilizes elements of John Braithwaite's (1989) “reintegrative shaming” as a technique of affective governance designed to discipline participants into docile subjects, whose sexual practices comport with an ideal envisioned by the state. Using Nathan Harris' framework of shame management, I discuss participant responses as expressions of shame-guilt, embarrassment-exposure, or unresolved shame. Such categorizations illustrate the extent to which the affective appeals of program presenters are taken up or resisted. At the same time, I consider the type of subject the NJS se...

Reintegrative shaming, redemption, and acceptance: A survey of Christian church goers in eastern North Carolina

ABSTRACTObjectives: Using Braithwaite's (1989) notions of crime, shame, and reintegration as theoretical underpinning, we identify factors associated with acceptance of a variety of offenders accused or convicted of various criminal behaviors among Christian church goers in a North Carolina county. Using a convenience sample method, surveys were administered to 365 church goers, with an effort to include a mixture of respondents that reflected the population of the county being sampled, in terms of race, gender, age, education level, and denominational affiliation. The survey included numerous vignettes, identifying crimes ranging in seriousness from underage drinking to murder, and from a variety of offenders including teenagers, young adults, middle aged women and middle aged men. Bivariate and multivariate techniques were employed to analyze the data. Acceptance was greatest for young adult and teenaged offenders for a variety of minor offenses, but also for young men that had been convicted of burglary and released into the community. Respondents were least accepting of sex offenders and people that had stolen money from the church. Race was one of the key variables, with African Americans being consistently most accepting of almost all categories of offense and offender. Acceptance was also associated with denomination, with Unitarian Universalists being the most accepting, and Roman Catholics being the least accepting. Acceptance was also positively associated with age and amount of formal education. Our results may reinforce Chiricos, Welch, & Gertz's (2004) ideas of racial typification of crime, and that crime and the “criminal” label revolve to a great degree around race. Concerns of safety and liability of church members continue to plague church ministers and staff. The church as an agent of reintegration and acceptance of offenders should continue to receive attention from scholars, the public and policy makers. Churches may serve as vehicles for effecting restorative justice programs.

Reintegrating to the Prison Community

Programming elements of reintegrative shaming into correctional institutions has become increasingly common. One popular program of this type is the Impact of Crime on Victims Classes (ICVC). Although the community typically envisioned in reintegrative research is one to which offenders return on prison release, we propose that the ICVC may have an effect on victimization within the institution, applying a theoretical conceptualization of the prison as its own community. Utilizing interrupted time-series analysis, we find that these classes, as a whole, did not significantly decrease institutional misconduct.

Talk it out: toward a narrative theory of community conferencing

I advance a narrative theory of restorative justice-practice – more specifically a narrative theory of community conferencing practice. I contend that positioning theory, a particular type of narrative theory, enhances the understanding of how community conferencing works. I argue that positioning theory offers a significant advancement of the current theories of community conferencing practice – affect theory and the theory of reintegrative shaming. In order to make this argument, I provide a brief history of the development of the practice of community conferencing, followed by a discussion of the current predominant theories of community conferencing practice. Then, I discuss the value of narrative theory, with a specific focus on the utility of positioning theory. Finally, I apply positioning theory to an understanding of community conferencing practice and suggest areas for future investigation of the utility of the theory.

Restorativeness, Procedural Justice, and Defiance as Long-Term Predictors of Reoffending of Participants in Family Group Conferences

This study extends Hipple and colleagues’ variation analysis by examining how varying degrees of restorative justice, procedural justice, and defiance in family group conference (FGC) processes and outcomes affect long-term juvenile recidivism measures in one large Midwestern U.S. city. The current study uses two data sets from the Indianapolis Juvenile Restorative Justice Experiment that include conference observations, juvenile histories, and adult criminal histories to examine how variations in FGC elements shape juvenile recidivism outcomes in a long-term follow-up period. Findings reveal that the greater fidelity of FGCs to the theoretical foundations of restorativeness and procedural justice, the better outcomes in the long term as measured by future offending. Specifically, offense type and conference restorativeness influenced the probability of recidivism in the long term. Results are consistent with the theoretical predictions of reintegrative shaming and procedural justice theories, providing further support that FGCs are a viable youth justice program option.

Supporters and restorative justice: how does the intersection between offenders, victims and the community influence perceptions of procedural justice and shaming?

Restorative justice programmes seek to repair the harm an offence has caused by engaging the offender, the victim and the community in a discussion of the effects the incident had on others and to reach an agreement about proper restitution. Through this process perceptions of procedural justice and reintegrative shaming can be fostered as the offender can participate in this dialogue and is subject to increased social control. Although the presence of others can be beneficial to the restorative justice process, this may not always be the case. Using data from the Australian Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE), we test the influence that others present have on offender perceptions of procedural justice and shaming. We find that the quality of the relationship between offenders and these others, and their mere presence, differentially influence these outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings.

Restorative justice in Taiwan's aboriginal societies: the example of the Atayal tribe(泰雅族)

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the justice tradition of Taiwan's Atayal tribe and explores its connections to restorative justice, reparatory justice, retaliatory justice and retributive justice. We find that the Atayal justice model is influenced by its belief system, Gaga, which values harmony, redemption and relationships with Utux, the super nature. There is no punitive element in the Atayal conception of justice. Atayal mediation aims at generating reintegrative shaming and repairing harms. The study concludes that the Atayal justice model is very similar to restorative justice, partially related to reparatory justice and retaliatory justice, and not connected to retributive justice.

Reintegrative Shaming and a Prayer Ritual of Reintegration in Matthew 18:15–20

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Examining the Effects of Social Bonds and Shame on Drug Recovery within an On-Line Support Community

Past research has demonstrated the utility of on-line support groups for individuals to form relationships and make connections. Additionally, some on-line communities have expanded to provide various types of support, particularly for deviant behavior. These virtual communities may be particularly indispensable to individuals who, out of fear of condemnation, are reluctant to seek traditional forms of social support. For purposes of this study, we examined how members of a substance abuse recovery on-line support group expressed feelings pertaining to their own substance abuse, as well as their processes of attempted or successful recovery. Using an inductive approach for our preliminary analysis, we first assessed which theories were most prevalent throughout the writers’ journals. We then used these theories, both Hirschi’s theory of social control and Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming, as frameworks to explore the differences between those who were in recovery and those who were still using.

Shame: Does it have a place in an education for democratic citizenship?

Shame, shame management and reintegrative shaming feature in some restorative justice literature, and may have implications for schools. Restorative justice in schools is effective when perpetrators of wrong-doing can accept and take ownership of their wrongful acts, are appropriately remorseful, and seek to make amends. Shame may be understood as an ethical matter if it is regarded to arise because of the contradiction between the wrongful act and the individual’s sense of self and self-worth. Shame management (that is, seeking reintegrative over stigmatising shaming) can be regarded to reflect a form of social responsibility as it contributes to community restoration by repairing ruptured social relationships. The notion of shaming and acknowledgement of harm thus assumes norms of acceptable community behaviour, attitudes and relationships, and is therefore also an ethical matter. Successful restorative practices in schools depend on the school-wide existence and practice of such norms, and mesh with virtues education, stimulated by the contemporary demand of many national curricula to promote so-called key competencies. Although the concepts of restorative justice and reintegrative shaming serve as a context for this article, its chief impetus was provided by an evaluative study of a group of New Zealand schools, in the course of which notions such as shame, reintegration and exclusion became evident. The chief purpose of this article is to consider and problematise shame from the perspective of the philosophy of education, and ask whether the concept of shame has a place in schools, whose important aims ought to include the development of democratic citizenship.

Are Restorative Justice Conferences More Fair Than Criminal Courts? Comparing Levels of Observed Procedural Justice in the Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE)

The reintegrative shaming experiments (RISE) were conducted in Canberra, Australia, between 1995 and 2000. RISE compared the effects of standard court proceedings to restorative justice (RJ)–focused diversionary conferences (DCs) with juvenile, young adult, and adult offenders who had been arrested for personal property, shoplifting, violent, or drunk driving offenses. We evaluated, using observational data, the effect of RJ conferences on objective procedural justice. We find that the DCs produced significantly higher levels of offender engagement within the adjudicative process and higher levels of ethical treatment, and that, when compared with standard trials, conduct within the conferences was attuned to the reintegrative shaming (RIS) process. These results reinforce the previous RISE findings by providing evidence that the conferencing process, as delivered, was in keeping with the overall goals of RJ and supports the prior attribution of RISE’s effectiveness to the RJ process.

The Practice of Reintegrative Shaming in Mental Health Court

Scholars and practitioners have renewed their interest in recognizing and designing restorative justice programs. Although these programs often provide successful outcomes, we know relatively little about why they work. Reintegrative shaming theory provides a lens by which to explain successful outcomes. This study uses over three years of direct observations to examine the practice of reintegrative shaming in a mental health court (MHC). We organize our findings around four primary components of reintegrative shaming outlined by Makkai and Braithwaite: respectful disapproval, disapproving the behavior rather than the individual, rejecting deviance as a master status, and ceremonial decertifications of deviance. Our data demonstrate that reintegrative shaming in MHC is largely accomplished through interactions with the judge, although the unique organization of the MHC, including their small caseloads, use of separate dockets, and pre-court team meetings, advance the court’s use of reintegrative shaming.

Implications of Court Versus Conference

Courts and conferences emphasize varying elements of procedural justice to ensure that outcomes are fair and invoke moral regret or shame among offenders. How procedural justice relates to the various ways shame is experienced or managed is, however, not clear. Using data from the Australian Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE), we examine how four types of shame management—shame acknowledgment, shame displacement, shame avoidance, and internalizing shame—operate within the context of traditional court processing and the restorative justice conference. Results indicate that the type of treatment offenders receive (court vs. conference) and perceptions of procedural justice affect shame management, highlighting important implications for understanding how shame management influences recidivism within court and conference.

Deviance and Social Control in an Alternative Community: The Unique Case of the Rainbow Family of Living Light

This article employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine social control and redefined deviance in a utopian countercultural group, The Rainbow Family of Living Light, to answer the question of how socially marginalized groups create and maintain collective identity. Working within a symbolic interactionist paradigm, and drawing on theoretical perspectives on reintegrative shaming, the authors examine the experiences of Rainbow Gatherers during a national gathering in the summer of 2010. Through interviews and observations, we illustrate how Rainbow Gatherers redefine deviance, use covert informal social control, create new definitions of proscribed behavior, and construct an internal hierarchical structure. We note a key paradox, in that although the very existence of a hierarchy and rules runs counter to their stated ideology, participants nonetheless acknowledge, observe, and culturally transmit rules and social norms. To navigate this paradox, Gatherers frame control within a familial reintegrative shaming paradigm, exerting covert informal social control within a milieu of family, peace, and cooperation. By drawing on members’ sense of collective harmony, belonging, and family (including often using sibling references), Gatherers can both foster integrations and reaffirm power-symmetry, and thus foster “appropriate” behavior in non-authoritarian ways. This framework allows them to simultaneously control the behaviors of their participants while maintaining their collective anti-control ideology. Findings show that the use of covert informal social control fosters collective identity in the group.