The effect of self-esteem, family structure, locus of control, and career goals on adolescent leadership behavior.

Since leadership in formal and informal high school activities is one possible indicator of positive social adjustment among adolescents, it is worthwhile to better understand why certain adolescents become leaders and others do not. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between leadership behavior (dependent variable) and self-esteem, locus of control, family structure, and career goals. The participants were divided into a leadership group (n = 79) and a nonleadership (comparison) group (n = 124). Adolescents in the leadership group tended to be higher in internal locus of control, to live in a two-parent family structure, and to have more prestigious career goals. There was no significant difference between the two groups in level of self-esteem, although those in the leadership group with higher self-esteem also tended to have higher career goals.