| A comparative descriptive research design was used to study the decision-making styles and levels of self-esteem in 22 adolescent gang members and 35 non-gang members between the ages of 13 and 17, on an inpatient psychiatric unit. Research was based on Janis and Mann's conflict theory of decision-making. The premise of the model is that stress caused by decisional conflict results in the failure to achieve high-quality decisions. Two self-report instruments were used to collect data: the Flinders Adolescent Decision-Making Questionnaire (FADMQ), measuring competent and maladaptive decision-making styles (complacency, evasiveness, panic and vigilance) and decision self-esteem (a six item subscale of the FADMQ); and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale which measures perceived self-esteem. The mean age of both groups was 15 years. The decision styles used by the two groups occurred in the same ranked order. The primary style of decision-making was vigilance, followed by panic, evasiveness and complacency. The analysis for differences was not significant {dollar}rm (p < .05).{dollar} However, there was statistical significance at the.001 level for differences between frequencies within the data. Forty-six percent of the non-gang group and 73% of the gang group utilized the vigilant decision style as their primary pattern. Both groups scored in the medium range for the decision self-esteem. The non-gang group scored in the medium range of Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, while the gang group scored in the high range of self-esteem. The relationship between ranks of scores on decision self-esteem and perceived self-esteem were found to be significantly different {dollar}rm (p < 0.01),{dollar} confirming that the two scales do not measure the same construct. The current study builds on the decision-making theory and describes how adolescents cope with the dilemmas and conflicts of decision-making. |
