The relationship between self-esteem and AD/HD characteristics in the serious juvenile delinquents in Japan

The purpose of this study was to clarify the following 2 points: (1) whether self-esteem changes after correctional education, and (2) whether attention deficit/hyperactivity characteristics affect self-esteem. The subjects were 118 juveniles (all males) admitted to “A” juvenile correctional facility. Our findings indicated that during the correctional education period, changes in self-esteem were limited. The AD/HD-YSR attention deficit score was negatively correlated with the self-esteem score on admission but was not associated with the self-esteem score at the time of parole. Next, the subjects were classified according to the self-esteem score. Consequently, the attention deficit score was significantly associated with self-esteem in all groups. Our results were suggested that total AD/HD-YSR score in the high self-esteem group was lower than that in the other groups. Our cross-sectional surveys have shown an association between the AD/HD-YSR score and self-esteem, suggesting the influences of developmental problems on self-esteem. Research implications were discussed.