NCJ Number
95566
Journal
American Journal of Sociology Volume: 90 Issue: 2 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 396-410
Date Published
1984
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Sociologists have posited a relationship between self-esteem and delinquent behavior, though there is some disagreement about its direction and form. This review of recent panel analyses assessing the various theoretical viewpoints shows consistent support for only one of the posited relationship -- that delinquent activity reduces subsequent self-esteem -- and the support is rather weak.
Abstract
The paper evaluates the dynamics of the self-esteem-delinquency relationship, employing a three-wave panel study of adolescents which contains multiple measures of self-esteem and substantively interpretable subscales of self-reported delinquent behavior. The results show that the effect of self-esteem on subsequent delinquent activity is negligible, although there are consistent but weak negative effects of delinquent behavior on subsequent self-esteem. These findings are robust across various subgroups of age, gender, family type, race, and mother's education. They are also consistent across the various measures of self-esteem and delinquent behavior. The weakness of the results suggests that researchers look elsewhere than self-esteem for a fuller understanding of delinquency. One table, 2 figures, and 32 references are given. (Author abstract modified)