Recent findings and most theories regarding juvenile delinquency implicitly or explicitly agree that a child's development is influenced by the characteristics of three major arenas: family, school, and peer groups. The literature on the relationships between family and delinquency indicate that it is not the structure but the function of a family that causes delinquency. Most of the research findings indicate that the parent-child interaction is the most important for explaining delinquency. Failure in academic achievement can affect the parent-child relationship in that it may cause the parent to reject the child. This is a particular problem in Korea. Poor academic achievement and consequent parental rejection can in turn produce an increased risk for involvement in deviant peer groups. Regarding peer group influence on delinquency, there is conflict between the social disability model, which emphasizes friend attachment, and the social ability model, which focuses on delinquent association. The proposed model gives family-related variables the most important influence for early delinquents and peer-related variables the most significance for later delinquency involvement. 42 references