The Relationship between a Schneider-Based Measure of Remorse and Chronic Offending in a Sample of Incarcerated Young Offenders

Abstract

The present study assesses whether feeling remorseful about one's current offence is associated with chronic offending among a population of incarcerated serious young offenders in British Columbia, Canada. The importance of remorse in criminal justice, generally, and in regard to Canadian youth justice is discussed. A self-report delinquency survey administered to youths incarcerated in Burnaby and Victoria, BC (N=447) revealed that 218 (49%) youths could be classified as chronic offenders under the definition used in this study and further that 19% of young offenders fit this study's definition of chronic serious violent offender. Multivariate results indicated that remorse was not associated with general chronic offending once other traditional risk factors were considered, likely because the latter attenuated the impact of remorse. However, once the sample was divided into chronic serious violent offenders and chronic non-serious violent offenders, remorse was a significant predictor of these phenomena. This suggests that the emphasis placed on remorse toward offending behaviours is useful, but that it is highly dependent on the type and frequency of offences.