Delinquency as self-presentation (2): Meaning of violent behavior in group situation; ‘To whom’ and ‘How’ are delinquent juveniles going to present themselves?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine some characteristics of ‘delinquency as self-presentation’ by focusing on goals and targets of self-presentation, motivation for impression management in a social predicament which is relevant to their impression. In the first analysis, 194 delinquents (male juvenile delinquents in Juvenile Classification Home) and 204 non-delinquents (male senior high school students) participated in a questionnaire survey adopted the scene imagination method. The results showed that delinquents who belong to gang groups were more motivated to manage their impression in a social predicament, and more likely to behave roughly and rudely so as to present strong image of themselves than non-delinquents. In the second analysis, we selected juveniles who were more motivated to manage their impression in a social predicament, divided them into two groups, and compared the ways they would react in a social predicament we created for this study. The results showed that the juveniles who were likely to behave roughly and rudely in the given situation have a tendency to present strong image of themselves, be more conscious of the impression which their peers and opponents form of them, be less conscious of the impression which people surrounding them form of them.