In part I, the major theories in the sociology of deviance are reviewed in terms of their underlying assumptions, from which three distinct approaches are developed: socialization, social reaction, and control. In part II, these approaches are compared to the life histories given by several career deviants, and evaluated for their ability to account for three stages of deviance--emergence, patterning, and change. The socialization approach draws the most criticism, due to its overemphasis on social norms and values as determinants of behavior. The societal reaction model explained all the phases in some cases, but overlooked the relationship between self-factors and social reaction. Control theory was the most applicable to the life histories and most viable in explaining the three stages. Notes, tables, 2 appendixes, index