Self-esteem and delinquency in South Korean adolescents: Latent growth modeling

Abstract

This study examined the inter-related development of self-esteem and delinquency across three years. Participants were 3449 Korean high school adolescents (age M = 15.8, SD = 0.42, 1725 boys, 1724 girls) from Korea Youth Panel Study (KYPS), in 2005–2007, nationally representative of Korean adolescents. Latent growth modeling was employed for analysis. Results showed that: 1) there were linear growth in self-esteem and delinquency. Moreover, there were significant individual differences in initial level of self-esteem and delinquency, and rate of change in self-esteem and delinquency; 2) the analyses of panel data did not support Kaplan's theory by showing that delinquency was negatively associated with growth in self-esteem among adolescents. Cultural implications are illustrated. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.