CENTRAL TO THE VARIOUS SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO DELINQUENCY ARE THE THEORIES OF CULTURAL DEVIANCE, WHICH REFERS TO CONDUCT REFLECTING SOCIALIZATION TO SUBCULTURAL VALUES AND DERIVATIVE NORMS THAT CONFLICT WITH THE LAW, AND SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION, WHICH REFERS TO THE RELATIVE LACK OF ARTICULATION OF VALUES WITHIN CULTURE AS WELL AS BETWEEN CULTURE AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE. THE COMBINATION OF EITHER OF THESE IN MIXED MODELS OF DELINQUENT SUBCULTURE YIELDS CAUSAL MODELS THAT ENCOMPASS THE PRINCIPAL CURRENT SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF DELINQUENCY. SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY CONTAINS TWO VARIANTS: STRAIN MODELS AND CONTROL MODELS. STRAIN MODELS FOCUS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THAT PRODUCE PRESSURES TO ENGAGE IN DELINQUENCY, AND CONTROL MODELS ASSUME THAT STRAIN IS RELATIVELY CONSTANT ACROSS PERSONS AND WANTS CAN BE GRATIFIED ONLY AT THE COST OF FOREGOING THE GRATIFICATION OF OTHER WANTS. IT IS ARGUED THAT PROPONENTS OF THE CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY OF DELINQUENCY FAIL TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND CULTURE AND THAT THE ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THE THEORY LACK CREDIBILITY. STRAIN THEORIES ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY EMPIRICAL TESTING BECAUSE ALTHOUGH ASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS MAY BE RELATED TO DELINQUENCY, THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THEM IS NOT PRODUCTIVE OF THE HIGHEST DELINQUENCY RATES AS STRAIN THEORY PREDICTS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE MORE DEFINITIVE FORMULATION OF CONTROL MODELS LINKING MACROSOCIAL AND MICROSOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES, ACCOMPANIED BY RIGOROUS TESTING, IS A MORE APPROPRIATE WAY TO VIEW DELINQUENCY. (DAG)