Research investigating the relationship between delinquency and the self-concept has generally concluded that delinquency is caused by some internal pathology. In contrast to these findings, however, a developing body of literature suggests that delinquency may be motivated by a need to enhance the self-concept. This research is not clear, however, regarding who should be most likely to seek self-enhancement through delinquency. The current investigation examines the hypothesis that delinquency may provide an important source of self-affirmation for youths who are limited in their exposure to more conventional sources of affirmation. Because success in school is an important conventional source of affirmation for adolescents, it was hypothesized that juveniles who are uninvested in academics would be particularly likely to consider delinquent alternatives when other conventional sources of affirmation were also limited. As such, the pressure to be delinquent should be greatest for individuals who are the most limited in the number of conventional resources to which they have access. Because Blacks have fewer conventional resources on average than Whites, the enhancing effect of delinquency on the self-concept was expected to vary by academic investment and racial group membership. Thus, it was hypothesized that Blacks who are academically uninvested would be most likely to find affirmation in delinquency. In order to test this hypothesis, two sets of secondary analyses were conducted using data from the Youth in Transition study (1966-1968) and National Youth Survey (1976-1977). Findings across both studies confirmed the hypothesis that among Blacks who were academically uninvested, initial delinquency enhances subsequent self-regard. Whites who were uninvested in school did not show this effect, and Blacks and Whites who were academically invested did not show this effect. These findings challenge conventional interpretations of delinquency and suggest that delinquency can be an important source of affirmation for juveniles who have few alternatives. Future research directions, and the implications of these findings, are also discussed.