Abstract
Self-efficacy and delinquency. 1063 participant (age 14-21 yrs) from Salamanca were interviewed regarding their criminal behaviour according the model developed in European Union. In addition to problem and delinquent behaviour they recorded their perceived self-efficacy for committing the offenses described in the questionaire. This study reveals that (a) people who beging a "career" as a criminal continue to carry out all kinds of criminal and problem behaviours; (b) sociodemographic and enviromental variables are related to delinquent behaviour, and (c) nevertheless, those variables are of little predictive value compared to judgment of self-efficacy for delinquency. Once they make a decision on moral disengagement grounds they engage in activities in the moral/legal sphere so that transgressive behaviour is accounted for by the same processes as non-criminal behaviour. Thus contributions of other theories of crime are interpreted within a new criminological explanation.
