Deviant Identity as a Moderator of the Relation between Negative Self-Feelings and Deviant Behavior

Informed by a general theory of deviant behavior, it was hypothesized that the positive effect of negative self-feelings on later deviant behavior would be observed only for youth who are not characterized by a deviant identity. Data from a panel of youths tested during early adolescence and retested 3 years later (N = 1,041) were used to estimate structural equations models. As hypothesized, for youths without a deviant identity, negative self-feelings had both direct and indirect (via contemporary deviant behavior) positive effects on later deviant behavior. For youths characterized by deviant identities, however, no overall effect of negative self-feelings on deviant behavior was observed due to the operation of countervailing effects. Countering the indirect positive effects of negative self-feelings (presumably reflecting alienation from the conventional order) were inverse direct effects of negative self-feelings on later deviant behavior (presumably reflecting alienation from the deviant identity stemming from its association with concomitant negative self-feelings).