The purpose of the present study was to examine whether delinquent behavior is significantly associated with two aspects of self-concept, after controlling for demographic variables and narcissistic tendency, and to explore which sub-factors of narcis...
The purpose of the present study was to examine whether delinquent behavior is significantly associated with two aspects of self-concept, after controlling for demographic variables and narcissistic tendency, and to explore which sub-factors of narcissism explain delinquent behavior significantly in delinquent juveniles group. The subjects of this study were 152 middle and high school students as a normal adolescent group and 151 adolescents under probation as a delinquent juveniles group.
The results of this study are summarized as follows.
First, in both delinquent juveniles group and the normal adolescent group, self-esteem, which is the evaluative aspect of self-concept, had a negative effect on delinquent behavior. However, self-concept clarity, which is the cognitive aspect of self-concept, had a negative effect on delinquent behavior only in delinquent juveniles and its effect was not significant in the normal adolescent group.
Second, in the delinquent juveniles group, among the sub-factors of narcissism, only exploitation factor explained delinquent behavior significantly.
The results of this study as presented above showed that self-related variables affecting delinquent behavior are different between delinquent juveniles and normal adolescent, and that delinquent behavior increases when self-concept is not clear in the delinquent group. This suggests the importance of self-concept and the necessity of clinical interventions for preventing delinquent behaviors. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research were discussed.