Should We Be Targeting Self-Esteem in Treatment for Offenders: Do Gender and Race Matter in Whether Self-Esteem Matters?

Self-esteem has long been a subject of discussion regarding its effects on problem behaviors including crime and recidivism. The current literature suggests that low self-esteem is not related to crime for male offenders and perhaps it is inflated self-esteem that is to blame for violence and crime. The literature on females and crime still suggests, however, that low self-esteem plays a part in the etiology of crime. This study sought to uncover the differences in the effects of self-esteem on recidivism in a sample of 280 offenders, both men and women, and black and white. This study found that while self-esteem was not related to recidivism for the sample as a whole and there was no difference in the effects of self-esteem on recidivism formen and women, there was a race effect. That is, as the levels of selfe-steem increased, the likelihood of arrest for African Americans increased, regardless of gender. The opposite was true for white offenders. As selfe-steem levels for white offenders increased, regardless of gender, the likelihood of arrest decreased. Possible explanations as well as policy implications are addressed. [(C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]