Prosocialidad y adaptación social en jóvenes infractores: influencia de la percepción de la justicia restaurativa

The aim of this article is to analyze the influence of the perception of restorative justice and the type of custodial measure, either at the beginning or at the end of the process, on prosociality and adaptive behavior in a group of young people involved in Colombia’s Adolescent Criminal Responsibility System (SRPA). Scales of prosociality, adaptive behavior, and attitudes toward restorative justice were applied to two groups of young offenders in the SRPA: at the beginning of the process with a custodial measure (n = 25) and at the end of the process with a non-custodial measure (n = 25). In addition, the youths were grouped according to their level of perception of restorative justice. It was found that the level of perception of restorative justice influences the use of community resources within social adaptation, empathy, emotional support, and prosociality. The results underscore the importance of restorative justice in the resocialization process.