I asked why his life had gone wrong. He was a foster child, kicked around most of his life. When he had a gun in his hands, he had power and respect for the first time in his life. It was an addiction. He did not need the money, he needed the respect and the power over self, that he had been denied for most of his life.
Competence is confidence.
If kids have nothing to be confident about, they will not feel competent. A before and after survey of how kids imagine their dreams for the future. The dream drives the action. The views people have about people in authority say much more about themselves, they are usually little more than self-projections. Views about people in authority tell you what people respect.