SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION MODELS OF DELINQUENCY ASSUME CONSENSUS ON CERTAIN BASIC VALUES CODIFIED IN CRIMINAL LAW AND VIEW DELINQUENCY AS INFRACTION OF LEGAL NORMS RESULTING FROM WEAKENED COMMITMENT TO CONFORMITY. SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY CONTAINS TWO VARIANTS: STRAIN MODELS AND CONTROL MODELS. STRAIN MODELS FOCUS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PRESSURES TO ENGAGE IN DELINQUENCY. CONTROL MODELS ASSUME THAT STRAIN IS RELATIVELY CONSTANT ACROSS PERSONS, SINCE WANTS CAN BE GRATIFIED ONLY AT THE COST OF FOREGOING THE GRATIFICATION OF OTHER WANTS; THUS, EVERYONE HAS UNFULFILLED WANTS. THE WEAKENING OF SOCIAL CONTROLS, THEN, IS THE PRIMARY CONTRIBUTOR TO DELINQUENCY UNDER THE CONTROL MODEL VARIANT OF THE SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION MODEL. IN CULTURAL DEVIANCE MODELS OF DELINQUENCY, THE CAUSE OF DELINQUENCY LIES IN THE PLETHORA OF CONFLICTING SUBCULTURES AMONG THE CONSTITUENT SUBGROUPS OF HIGHLY DIFFERENTIATED SOCIETIES. LAWS CONSTRUCTED BY DOMINANT SUBGROUPS IN A GOVERNMENTAL UNIT DEFINE AS DEVIANT THE SOCIALIZED BEHAVIORS IN OTHER SUBGROUPS WHICH DIFFER FROM THE VALUES AND INTERESTS OF THE DOMINANT SUBCULTURE. THE CULTURAL DEVIANCE MODEL VIEWS MAN'S BEHAVIOR AS BEING COMPLETELY LEARNED FROM THE SOCIALIZING VALUES OF THE SUBCULTURE THAT CONDITIONS HIS BEHAVIOR. THE SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION MODEL VIEWS HUMANS AS SEEKERS AFTER OPTIMAL GRATIFICATION, AN INSTINCT WHICH MUST BE CONTROLLED AND TEMPERED BY STRUCTURED SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES THAT WILL PROVIDE FORMALIZED PATTERNS FOR MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL GRATIFICATION EXCHANGES IN SOCIOECONOMIC INTERACTION. WHEN SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION WEAKENS CONTROLS (THE CONTROL MODEL) OR GRATIFICATION DRIVES OVERPOWER CONTROLS (THE STRAIN MODEL) DELINQUENCY RESULTS. (RCB)