EFFECTS OF SELF-MONITORING AND PERCEIVED APPROVAL ON DELINQUENT-BEHAVIOR AMONG HONG-KONG ADOLESCENTS

It has been established that perceived approval from relevant others i s related to delinquent behavior. The aim of the present study was to investigate how this relationship was mediated by self-monitoring. Eig ht hundred twenty-eight students from Grade 7 to Grade 9 were asked to respond to a questionnaire that measured their self-monitoring, the f requency they committed delinquent acts, and the perceived approval of committing these acts from their parents, teachers, and friends. Regr ession analyses indicated that self-monitoring was an interacting fact or between perceived approval and delinquency. On further path analyse s, it was found that self-monitoring acted as a mediating factor, and that the relationship between delinquent behavior and perceived approv al was more apparent among high self-monitoring individuals.