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A Self-Affirmation Intervention for Responsible Parties in Restorative Justice
Rachel M Gehman1, Elizabeth C Pinel1
1University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Summary
Self-affirmation interventions improved contract readiness and perspective-taking in restorative justice participants. However, it did not increase responsibility-taking, showing varied psychological effects.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Restorative justice aims to repair harm and promote offender accountability.
- Self-affirmation theory posits that affirming core values can bolster self-integrity.
- Understanding psychological interventions in restorative justice is crucial for offender rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychological impact of a self-affirmation intervention on offenders in restorative justice.
- To examine whether self-affirmation influences responsibility taking, perspective taking, and contract readiness.
- To explore the mediating roles of self-integrity and existential connection in these effects.
Main Methods:
- 116 restorative justice participants were randomly assigned to a values-affirmation or neutral writing task.
- Self-integrity and existential connection were measured as mediators.
- Responsibility taking, perspective taking, and contract readiness were measured as dependent variables.
Main Results:
- Participants in the values-affirmation group showed higher contract readiness and perspective taking compared to controls.
- Responsibility taking was not significantly increased by the self-affirmation intervention.
- Self-integrity mediated the effect on contract readiness, while existential connection mediated the effect on perspective taking.
Conclusions:
- Self-affirmation interventions can enhance specific aspects of offender engagement in restorative justice, such as motivation and empathy.
- The psychological mechanisms underlying self-affirmation's effects differ depending on the outcome variable.
- Restorative justice programs could integrate values-affirmation techniques to improve participant outcomes.
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