THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 42 INSTITUTIONALIZED JUVENILE OFFENDERS, 81 BOYS FROM HIGH SES AREAS, 91 FROM MIDDLE SES AREAS, AND 91 FROM LOW SES AREAS. THE SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO WRITE A BRIEF DISCRIPTION OF THEIR FATHERS' OCCUPATION AND AN ESSAY ON FACTORS OF DELINQUENCY; FUNCTIONAL LITERACY SCORES WERE DETERMINED BY THE PERCENTAGE OF MISSPELT WORDS IN BOTH WRITINGS. FOR BOYS OF LOW SES, ILLITERACY HAD A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION WITH THE DELINQUENCY RATE OF THE AREA OF RESIDENCE. THE ILLITERACY RATE OF INSTITUTIONALIZED DELINQUENTS WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF COMPARABLE NONDELINQUENTS. FURTHER, NO SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL'S SES AND ILLITERACY EXCEPT IN UPPER CLASS AREAS WITH A HIGH DELINQUENCY RATE. THERE WAS A NONSIGNIFICANT TREND FOR RESIDENCE IN A LOW SES AREA TO BE RELATED TO ILLITERACY IN BOYS OF HIGHER INDIVIDUAL SES. NO DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND AMONG THE LITERACY LEVELS OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL POPULATIONS OR THE THREE AGE GROUPINGS. ALTHOUGH THE RELEVANCE OF THE OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF ILLITERACY USED IN THIS STUDY IS OPEN TO QUESTION, THE FINDINGS DO SUGGEST THAT A DELINQUENT SUBCULTURE MAY BE A MAJOR FACTOR IN JUVENILE ILLITERACY AND ARE NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE HYPOTHESIS THAT DELINQUENCY IN LOWER CLASS JUVENILES MAY BE A RESPONSE TO UNEQUAL COMPETITION AND FRUSTRATION EXPERIENCED IN A PRIMARILY MIDDLE CLASS SCHOOL SYSTEM. ILLITERACY APPEARS TO BE RELATED TO THOSE SOCIAL FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO A CULTURE OF DELINQUENCY, RATHER THAN TO AN INDIVIDUAL'S DELINQUENT CONDUCT OR SES OR AREA OF RESIDENCE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT SOCIAL MEASURES AIMED AT THE CULTURE OF DELINQUENCY MAY BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN REMEDIATING ILLITERACY THAN EDUCATIONAL OR LEGALISTIC MEASURES AIMED AT THE INDIVIDUAL. A LIST OF COMMON MISSPELLINGS AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)