A research of the self-esteem of 160 young delinquents (male and female) aged 14-16 compared with the self-esteem of law-abiding adolescents was made with the help of a set of methods, clinical interviews and studies of the biography materials. The confirmation of the hypothesis was received, according to which one of the motives of re-orientation of adolescents towards the anti-social way of development was the desire to increase their self-esteem, the level of which happened to be low due to the social disadaptation of children.