NCJ Number
191024
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 165-184
Editor(s)
Ron Blackburn
Date Published
September 2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This research study investigated the relationships among goal setting, reputation enhancement, and delinquent behavior in adolescents.
Abstract
This study proposed that many young people in the categories of delinquent and at-risk youth choose to build and maintain their reputations by selecting and accomplishing very specific and challenging goals which happen to be non-conforming. This study examined the second-order factors underlying four different measures of adolescent behaviors, goals, and reputations and compared three groups of young people: non-delinquent, at-risk youth, and delinquents. In addition, family structure and ethnicity were also considered. Participants included 80 incarcerated delinquents, 90 at-risk, and 90 not at-risk males. The study was conducted in two detention centers and four high schools. Four scales were administered and included: (1) Importance of Goals Scale; (2) Reputation Enhancement Scale; (3) Adapted Self-Report Delinquency Scale; and (4) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The analysis confirmed the existence of four second-order factors: (1) self-reported delinquency; (2) self-presentation; (3) conforming reputation; and (4) non-conforming reputation indicating they were conceptually interrelated and meaningful to interpret data. Results indicated that the delinquent and at-risk participants of the study have and wish to have a more conforming reputation than members of the not-at-risk group. Delinquency goals were significantly more important to members of the delinquent and at-risk group. They perceived and describe themselves as having more conforming reputations. They want to be perceived as having more non-conforming reputations and have more admiration of law-breaking activities. The integration of goal-setting theory and reputation enhancement theory tested in this study provided an alternative analysis of delinquency using a social-psychological approach. The phenomenon of non-conforming reputation enhancement among delinquent and at-risk adolescents highlights the need to provide a differentiated intervention for working with these particular young people. Tables, graphs, and references