SURVEY RESPONDENTS INCLUDED 171 PRACTITIONERS (POLICE, JUDGES, COUNSELORS, CORRECTIONS PERSONNEL) AND 214 MEMBERS OF THE LAY PUBLIC--ALL FROM NORTH CAROLINA. THE RESPONDENTS GENERALLY AGREED ABOUT EXPLANATIONS FOR DELINQUENCY AND ABOUT APPROPRIATE DIRECTIONS FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE POLICY AND PROGRAMMING. MOST HELD A DETERMINIST VIEW OF DELINQUENCY; I.E., THEY SAW DELINQUENCY AS THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES. SUCH AN IDEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION OF DELINQUENCY, BASED AS IT IS ON VALUES AND PERCEPTIONS RATHER THAN ON EMPIRICAL DATA, IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MISUSE OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN DEALING WITH COMPLEX SOCIAL PROBLEMS. IT IS ALSO THE SOURCE OF THE DEADLOCK, INACTION, AND CONFUSION THAT CHARACTERIZE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS. INSISTENCE THAT DELINQUENCY IS CAUSED BY PSYCHOLOGICAL OR SOCIAL FACTORS HAS HAD THE EFFECTS OF MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO, RESTRICTING POLICY CHOICES, AND FOCUSING ATTENTION ON THE SOURCES OF DELINQUENCY RATHER THAN ON THE PROBLEM ITSELF. A BETTER APPROACH WOULD BE TO ACCEPT THAT DELINQUENCY IS SUCH A COMPLEX SOCIAL PROBLEM THAT LITTLE CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT IT, AND THEN TO CONCENTRATE ON HELPING YOUTHS DEAL WITH CRISIS, PATHOLOGICAL, OR DEVELOPMENTAL SITUATIONS AS THEY ARISE. UNDER THIS APPROACH, THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM WOULD EMPHASIZE CONFLICT RESOLUTION, HOLDING YOUTHS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS RATHER THAN BLAMING THESE ACTIONS ON SOME ABSTRACT ETIOLOGY. FOR INSTANCE, A YOUTH WHO DAMAGES A NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE PROPERTY, NOT TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC EXAMINATION OR TO BE SUPERVISED BY A PROBATION OFFICER. COUPLED WITH THIS CHANGE IN POLICY SHOULD BE A REFOCUS OF THEORY UTILIZATION AND RESEARCH ON VERY SERIOUS FORMS OF DELINQUENCY, TOGETHER WITH AN INCREASED USE OF EVALUATION RESEARCH. SUPPORTING DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)