Background: Recent research suggests that externalizing behaviors may influence the severity of delinquent behavior and may also be associated with low affective empathy and sensitivity to the well-being of others, as well as a decreased ability to recognize the emotions of others and to experience reciprocal psychological distress.

Aim: This study examines the effects of empathy and callous unemotional traits-and the mediating role of moral disengagement-in explaining externalizing behavior in juvenile offenders.

Method: The study was observational-analytic, correlational-exploratory, and involved 376 juvenile offenders (M = 17.36 years, SD = 1.445) who were sanctioned with a custodial measure.

Results: Results indicated that empathy, callous-unemotional traits, and moral disengagement had significant associations and differential effects on externalizing behavior. In addition, moral disengagement was identified as a psychological mechanism mediating the effects of empathy and callous-unemotional traits on externalizing behavior, and the age invariance of the mediation model was determined.

Conclusion: These findings provide valuable information for specific interventions aimed at reducing externalizing behaviors in juvenile offenders and highlight the importance of the fundamental mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationship between emotional factors and antisocial behavior.

Keywords: Empathy; callous-emotionless traits; externalizing behavior; moral disengagement.