Authors: César Andrés Carmona-Cardona, Leidys Helena Rivera-Quiroz, Olber Eduardo Arango-Tobón, Isabel Cristina Puerta-Lopera

ISBN (Digital version): 978-628-7765-10-8

Date of edition: August 21st, 2025

Abstract: Juvenile delinquency remains a complex, multifactorial challenge in Colombia and Latin America, carrying significant personal, social, and economic costs. Aggression in Juvenile Offenders explores the relationship between certain social cognition variables—such as empathy and affective theory of mind—and affective personality traits, and their influence on aggression in young people in conflict with the law. The study, grounded in an empirical-analytical approach and a non-experimental cross-sectional design, was conducted in two facilities within Colombia’s Juvenile Criminal Responsibility System. Findings indicate that affective traits are stronger predictors of aggressive behavior. In particular, hardness and interpersonal neglect were linked to proactive aggression, whereas hardness and emotional coldness were associated with reactive aggression. The book delivers a rigorous analysis of the investigative, clinical, and social implications of these results, with a focus on strategies for prevention, intervention, and treatment of aggressive behavior in adolescents.