TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHANGING FRIENDSHIP OR GANG NETWORKS WILL HAVE A MORE IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON FEMALE DELINQUENCY PATTERNS THAN ANY KIND OF ATTITUDINAL OR IDEOLOGICAL FEMALE LIBERATION, QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS DERIVED FROM THE LARGELY MALE-ORIENTED RESEARCH LITERATURE WERE DEVELOPED WHICH ASSESSED SELF-ADMITTED DELINQUENCY, PERCEIVED PEER GROUP APPROVAL OF DELINQUENT ACTS, EXTENT OF PEER GROUP INVOLVEMENT AND PEER REFERENCE GROUP, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD A VARIETY OF BEHAVIORS. WHILE MOST OF THE INCARCERATED GIRLS HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN SUCH TRADITIONALLY FEMALE JUVENILE OFFENSES AS RUNNING AWAY AND SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS, THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE (44-48 PERCENT) HAD ALSO ENGAGED IN MORE SERIOUS DELINQUENT ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DRUG USE, GANG FIGHTING, AND BREAKING AND ENTERING. IN ADDITION, 53.7 PERCENT OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZED SAMPLE HAD BEEN PART OF A GANG. FOR WHITE GIRLS, THOSE WHO TENDED TO INTERACT IN SEXUALLY MIXED GROUPS WERE MORE DELINQUENT THAN THOSE WHO ASSOCIATED WITH ALL-FEMALE GROUPS. THIS DISTINCTION WAS NOT FOUND FOR BLACK GIRLS. WHILE FEMALE DELINQUENT ACTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN GROUPS OF MALES OR IN MIXED GROUPS, THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE THE RESULT OF THE GIRL ADOPTING A PASSIVE ROLE AND FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF HER BOYFRIEND. FOR BOTH THE BLACK AND WHITE SUBSAMPLES, RESPONDENTS PERCEIVED THE GREATEST APPROVAL FOR ENGAGING IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES FROM THEIR FEMALE PEERS. WHITE GIRLS PERCEIVED THE GREATEST DISAPPROVAL FROM THEIR BOYFRIENDS, WHILE BLACK GIRLS DID NOT DIFFERENTIATE AS SHARPLY BETWEEN THE PERCEIVED ATTITIUDES OF THEIR MALE AND FEMALE PEERS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST AN IMPORTANT LINK BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS AND DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENT, AND INDICATE THAT PEER GROUPS WHICH INCLUDE BOTH MALES AND FEMALES MAY BE PARTICULARLY CONDUCIVE TO DELINQUENCY, PARTICULARLY FOR WHITE GIRLS. THIS MAY REFLECT A LEARNING OF MALE DELINQUENT TECHNIQUES, VALUES, AND MOTIVES BY THE FEMALE GROUP MEMBERS. FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THIS ASSOCIATION BETWEEN REFERRENT GROUP AND DELINQUENCY, AS WELL AS THE APPARENT RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN PERCEIVED PEER GROUP APPROVAL, IS RECOMMENDED. (JAP)