Moral Disengagement in Adolescent Offenders: Its Relationship with Antisocial Behavior and Its Presence in Offenders of the Law and School Norms.

This study focuses on understanding the relationship between moral disengagement mechanisms in adolescents who engage in law-breaking activities and those who violate school norms. To do so, we administered the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS), which evaluates moral justification, euphemistic labeling, advantageous comparison, deflection of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, dehumanization, and attribution of blame, to 366 adolescents (60.1% males (n = 220) and 39.9% females (n = 146)). Our results confirmed the hypothesis that law-breaking adolescents presented a higher degree of moral disengagement than those adolescents who violate school norms. Additionally, we found that adolescents who violated school norms displayed significantly higher levels of dehumanization than the controls, and law-breaking adolescents obtained the highest score in this domain. Our findings allow us to suggest that the presence of the dehumanization mechanism in adolescents who violate school norms could be used as an early indicator of the emergence of antisocial behaviors, since this was the only component of moral disengagement that significantly differentiated this group from the controls in the study.

Desregulación emocional y conducta disocial en una muestra de adolescentes en conflicto con la ley / Emotional Dysregulation and Dissocial Behavior in a Sample of Adolescents in Conflict with the Law / Desregulação emocional e conduta dissocial numa mostra de adolescentes em conflito com a lei

Resumen Objetivo. Establecer el grado de relación entre la desregulación emocional y la conducta antisocial y delictiva en adolescentes que se encuentran en conflicto con la ley. Método. Diseño no experimental, enfoque cuantitativo, con alcance descriptivo-correlacional de temporalidad transversal. Participaron 62 adolescentes en conflicto con la ley. Se implementaron la ficha de caracterización MINI KID y la Escala de Desregulación Emocional (DERS-E). Resultados. El 54.8% de los adolescentes reportaron problemas de conducta. Según los hallazgos, la desatención emocional es diferente entre las personas con trastorno disocial y las que no lo presentan (t =4.853, p =0.031). La desatención emocional predice la aparición de trastorno disocial (β =0.030, p= 0.05, Exp(β)= 1.362). Conclusión. Los datos dan cuenta de la importancia de la revisión teórica de la conducta antisocial y de los factores asociados a ella, para establecer mejores modelos de intervención y de comprensión del fenómeno, principalmente la influencia de la regulación emocional en la aparición de la conducta disocial en adolescentes.

Abstract Objective. To establish the degree of relationship between emotional dysregulation and antisocial and criminal behavior in adolescents who conflict with the law. Method. Non-experimental design, quantitative approach, with descriptive scope - correlation of transversal temporality. Sixty-two adolescents in conflict with the law participated. The instruments used were the Characterization Sheet, MINI KID and Emotional Deregulation Scale (DERS-E). Results. 54.8% of adolescents reported behavioral problems. Emotional neglect is different between people with antisocial personality disorder and those who do not have it (t = 4.853, p = 0.031). Emotional neglect predicts the onset of antisocial personality disorder (A = 0.030, p = 0.05; Exp(-) = 1,362). Conclusion. The data showed the importance of the theoretical review of antisocial behavior and the factors associated with it in order to establish better models of intervention and understanding of the phenomenon, mainly the influence of emotional regulation on the onset of dissocial behaviour in adolescents.

Resumo Escopo. Estabelecer o grau de relação entre a desregulação emocional e a conduta antissocial e delitiva em adolescentes que estão em conflito com a lei. Metodologia. Desenho não experimental, enfoque quantitativo, com alcance descritivo-correlacional de temporalidade transversal. Participaram 62 adolescentes em conflito com a lei. Foi implementada a ficha de caracterização MINI KID e a escada de Desregulação Emocional (DERS-E). Resultados. O 54.8% dos adolescentes reportaram problemas de conduta. Segundo os achados, a desatenção emocional é diferente entre as pessoas com transtorno dissocial e as que não a presentam (t= 4.853, p= 0.031). A desatenção emocional prediz a aparição de transtorno dissocial (β = 0.030, p= 0.05, Exp(β) = 1.362). Conclusão. Os dados dão conta da importância da revisão teórica da conduta antissocial e dos fatores associados a ela, para estabelecer melhores modelos de intervenção e de compreensão do fenómeno, principalmente a influencia da regulação emocional na aparição da conduta dissocial em adolescentes.