Terminal core values associated with adolescent problem behaviors

Adolescence, Spring, 1999 by Brent G. Goff, H. Wallace Goddard

Consistent with previous research, warm relationships with others and being well-respected encouraged sexual activity. However, sense of belonging inhibited sexual activity. It is possible that adolescents with a strong sense of belonging primarily associate it with family or friends. Warm relationship with others may represent the transition to dyadic, sexually oriented relationships. This is consistent with Kamakura and Novak's (1992) observation that warm relationship with others is often interpreted as having a sexual connotation. The finding that being well-respected was associated with a greater number of partners seems consistent with the male perception of sex as a means to increase status, esteem, and peer-group respect.

The salience of terminal core values is at the heart of a unique intervention strategy that may be applicable to problem behavior. Value self-confrontation methods, which were pioneered by Rokeach (1973), seek to change people's behavior by changing the priority of the values that underlie that behavior (Schwartz & Inbar-Saban, 1988). Values self-confrontation has been successfully used to reduce smoking (Conroy, 1979), increase weight loss (Schwartz & Inbar-Saban, 1988), increase financial contributions to, and membership in, civil rights organizations (Rokeach, 1973), and enhance pro-environment behavior (Ball-Rokeach et al., 1984). Values self-confrontation has been used in classroom settings, via computer feedback and through the mass media (Grube, Mayton, & Ball-Rokeach, 1994). The theoretical foundation of value self-confrontation and a description of its implementation are provided by Grube et al. (1994) and Schwartz and Inbar-Saban (1988). Further research should be undertaken to determine its effectiveness with adolescent problem behaviors.

Identifying adolescents by their most important value appears to have diagnostic merit, as those whose dominant value is fun and enjoyment or security appear to be prone to problem behavior. The salience of fun and enjoyment may be altered by such intervention approaches as values self-confrontation. However, altering the salience of security may be more problematic, especially if it is a dominating value because of difficult life circumstances (as posited by strain theory). It may be necessary to provide adolescents with the means to fulfill security needs through more legitimate outlets.

Programs that increase the salience of self-respect, being well-respected (positive peer pressure), and sense of accomplishment would tend to decrease propensities toward problem behavior. Further, sense of belonging appears to be an important value for sexual abstinence. These values appear to be "guiding principles" that tend to inhibit the formation of a deviant self-image and, consequently, trajectory.

The fun and enjoyment group consisted predominantly of males (71%), which was not surprising. However, the security group was predominantly female (67%), which seems incongruent with this group's high frequency of violent crimes. In order to better understand the effects of gender, exploratory t-test analysis was conducted on selected groups. Gender was the independent variable and the 17 delinquency items were the dependent variables. Results indicated that males in the fun and enjoyment group more frequently engaged in shoplifting, physical assault, and physical extortion, while females more frequently ran away. For the group that had security as the dominant value, males more frequently engaged in breaking and entering, physical assault, vehicle theft, and vandalism, and were more frequently suspended/expelled from school and arrested. It is interesting to note that there was no gender difference in crimes involving weapons. Security as a dominant value seems to be a marker for violent delinquents of both sexes, but an especially good marker for violent females, who may be difficult to detect by other means.