Translational Criminology Seminar Series: Understanding Crime Through Emotions - Findings from a Two-Phase Study of Alexithymia

Presentation Abstract Alexithymia, characterised by difficulties identifying and describing one’s own emotions, has increasingly been recognised as a transdiagnostic construct associated with a range of adverse psychological and behavioural outcomes. Despite growing interest within clinical psychology, its relevance to offending behaviour remains comparatively underexplored within criminological research. This presentation reports findings from a two-phase doctoral study examining the relationship between alexithymia and offending behaviour through a criminologically informed biopsychosocial framework. Phase One involved a systematic review synthesising over five decades of international research on alexithymia among incarcerated populations, identifying consistent associations with trauma exposure, mental health difficulties, personality functioning, and violent offending, while highlighting important methodological limitations within the existing evidence base. Building on these findings, Phase Two employed a cross-sectional quantitative design comparing adults with a history of incarceration to individuals from the general community. The study examined differences in alexithymia, adverse childhood experiences, personality functioning, attachment, self-compassion, trauma symptoms, and aggression. Findings indicate that individuals with a history of incarceration reported significantly greater emotional difficulties, higher levels of childhood adversity and psychological distress, and poorer personality functioning than community participants. The results further demonstrate the importance of considering emotional functioning within broader developmental pathways associated with offending. The presentation discusses the implications of these findings for criminological theory, rehabilitation, and criminologically informed approaches to reducing reoffending, while highlighting the value of integrating emotional processes into contemporary understandings of offending behaviour. Presenter Bio Misu Kim is a PhD candidate and casual academic in Criminology at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her research examines the role of alexithymia, trauma, personality functioning, and aggression in offending behaviour, integrating psychological and criminological perspectives. She holds an MPhil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge and completed a double major in Psychology and Law, Criminology and Deviance (LCD) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Misu has published research on aggression and Forensic Psychology, teaches Criminology at UTS, and is passionate about translating research into evidence-informed approaches to crime prevention, rehabilitation, and criminal justice policy. This event is organised and sponsored by the Crime & Security Science Research Group (CaSS); event coordination is led by Dr Kai Lin, Convenor of the CaSS Translational Criminology Seminar Series, with administrative support from professional staff from the School of Architecture and Built Environment. The event has also been registered as an official event of the Social Sciences Week, hosted by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.