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. 2024 May 8;12(1):257.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-01758-x.

Childhood maltreatment, shame, and self-esteem: an exploratory analysis of influencing factors on criminal behavior in juvenile female offenders

Xiaomei Chen  1 , Bo Dai  2 , Shuang Li  3 , Lili Liu  4
Affiliations

Childhood maltreatment, shame, and self-esteem: an exploratory analysis of influencing factors on criminal behavior in juvenile female offenders

Xiaomei Chen et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between childhood maltreatment, shame, and self-esteem among juvenile female offenders and to explore the potential influencing factors on their criminal behavior.

Methods: Using a stratified cluster sampling method, 1,227 juvenile female offenders from 11 provinces in China were surveyed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Self-Esteem Scale (SES), and a self-developed Shame Questionnaire for Juvenile Offenders. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, chi-square tests, t-tests, and structural equation modeling with mediation analysis.

Results: (1) Childhood maltreatment have a significant potential influencing factors on criminal behavior; (2) Childhood maltreatment was positively correlated with self-esteem(β = 0.351, p < 0.001); (3) shame (β = 0.042, p < 0.001) mediate the relationship between Childhood maltreatment and self-esteem (childhood maltreatment → shame → self-esteem (95% Cl: 0.033, 0.052)).

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that childhood maltreatment is a significant predictor of criminal behavior among juvenile female offenders. childhood maltreatment can directly influence of self-esteem, which can also affect juvenile female offenders'self-esteem indirectly through shame. The findings suggest that shame are important variables that mediate the effect of the juvenile female offenders'childhood maltreatment on their self-esteem.

Keywords: Childhood maltreatment; Criminal behavior; Female juvenile offenders; Self-esteem; Shame.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Diagram of structural equation model
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