British delinquents and nondelinquents on seven domains of the self-concept

British male delinquents (n = 90) were compared with their nondelinquent counterparts (n = 121) in terms of scores on seven socialization-related domains of the self-concept. Ss were subgrouped according to both social class and “openness” of delinquent institution. The hypothesis that delinquents would have poorer self-concepts than nondelinquents was strongly supported with respect to five of the seven domains. Regarding the remaining two domains, the hypothesis was only partially supported. Delinquents from the most “closed” or security-conscious of the institutions were found to value their physical selves more than did the other subgroups, while also tending more, in terms of self-criticism, toward pathological defenselessness. © 1981 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.