Although anomie or strain theories of delinquency assert that adolescent distress leads to delinquent rebellion, delinquents do not report being more distressed than other youth. The delinquent subculture temporarily insulates participants from sources of distress they might otherwise feel. However, this oppositional disposition also provokes educational and employment problems that intervene and interact with the residue of this subculture to ultimately produce distress. This "sleeper" effect of adolescent rebellion does not emerge until early midlife. Adolescent rebellion in the form of subcultural delinquency leads to educational and employment problems and ultimately to feelings of hopelessness among adults who have dropped out of school and become unemployed. The origins of these effects are both cultural and structural. Tables, figure, references