ABSTRACT: This paper examines the relationship between type of offence and attribution of blame by offenders for their criminal activity. The Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory (GBAI) was administered to 139 prisoners at Grendon Psychiatric Prison, and 37 psychiatric patients with a forensic history. As predicted, a significant relationship with type of offence was found. Subjects who had committed sexual offences reported the strongest remorse for their offence, and those who had committed violent offences (e.g. homicide, grevious bodily harm) were more likely to attribute their offence to mental factors (e.g. loss of self-control, depression).
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