Observers, including mental health professionals, have asserted that the criminal’s psychological problems are rooted in his suffering from low self-esteem. They point out that the offender has failed repeatedly in life - in school, at work, and in his family. Even in crime, he has failed in that he has been apprehended. Some mental health professionals erroneously believe that the offender commits crimes to compensate for a basic sense of inadequacy.  They think that he tries to feel better about himself by striving to control others, outsmarting them, overcoming them physically or in other ways. This is an inversion of cause and effect.

In most instances, the criminal has rejected his family, teachers, and the world of work long before they rejected him. By refusing to exert effort in responsible endeavors, he has accomplished little that is substantive.  If a person has refused to work hard, lied, cheated, and otherwise exploited others, is it not realistic for him to have low self-esteem? Why, for example, would a nineteen year old who dropped out of school in tenth grade, who has no job skills, and who has alienated his family have reason to think well of himself?