Many studies have examined gender bias in juvenile court processing of delinquents, but few have examined the theoretical relationship between informal and formal social controls and a juvenile offender's disposition. In addition to the main hypothesis that an offender's "disrespectability" would result in harsher disposition outcomes for female status offenders than for male status offenders. The article analyzes all status offenders from a Midwestern State between 1975 and 1987 to determine the validity of these hypotheses. Diagnostic services were a strong predictor of disposition outcomes in all cases. Instead of viewing diagnostic services as a rehabilitative alternative to additional intervention, court officials seemed to interpret diagnostic services as an indicator of problem behavior relative to who initiates the complaint as well as to the expectations of appropriate punishment. Tables, appendixes, notes, references