The book is divided into five parts: (1) The Nature and Extent of Delinquency; (2) The Causes of Delinquency; (3) Environmental Influence and Delinquents in the United States; (4) Social Control of Delinquency; and (5) Delinquency and the Twenty-First Century. The first part explores how delinquent behavior affects the larger society and measures the nature and extent of delinquency by examining statistical studies. The second part examines five explanations of delinquent behavior: individual causes, ranging from free will to biological and psychological determinism; social structural factors; social process factors; social reaction theories; and the influence of gender, class and race on female delinquency. The third part examines the relationship between delinquency and problems in the family, such as child abuse, school experiences, gang delinquency, and drug abuse. In discussing the social control of delinquency, the fourth part includes an overview of the justice process, police juvenile relations, the juvenile court, community-based corrections and institutions for juveniles. The final part discusses key insights needed to understand delinquency and recommendations for the social control of delinquency in the twenty-first century. Individual chapters include discussion questions. Figures, tables, notes, glossary, indexes