QUESTIONNAIRES WERE ANSWERED BY 914 BOYS IN GRADES 7-9 IN THREE AREAS OF AN EAST COAST CITY. ONE HUNDRED NINETY-ONE WERE FROM A NONWHITE AREA, 386 FROM A LOW-INCOME WHITE AREA, AND 337 FROM A MIDDLE-INCOME WHITE AREA. AMONG BOYS WITH POLICE RECORDS, 78 PERCENT ADMITTED THE OFFENSE. TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS WERE OVERREPORTED AS WERE MINOR THEFTS AND VANDALISM. VALIDITY OF THE INCIDENTS SEEMS LIKELY, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THEY CORRELATE WITH OVERALL FIGURES FOR THE AREA. A MAJORITY OF THE BOYS REPORTING A LARGE NUMBER OF MINOR OFFENSES DO NOT HAVE AN OFFICIALLY RECORDED POLICE CONTACT. QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES COULD BE VALIDATED THROUGH OFFICIAL RECORDS FOR 88 PERCENT OF THE MIDDLE-INCOME WHITE AREA, 77 PERCENT OF THE LOWER-INCOME WHITE AREA, AND 76 PERCENT OF THE LOWER-INCOME NONWHITE AREA. SELF-REPORTING IS CALLED A USEFUL TECHNIQUE FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION AND CONTROL STUDIES. APPENDIXES GIVE THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED AND TWO QUESTIONNAIRES ADMINISTERED AT THE SAME TIME, A YOUTH OPINION POLL AND A SOCIAL DESIRABILITY RESPONSE SET SCALE.