THREE STUDIES EXAMINING THE CORRELATION BETWEEN INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND CRIME RATES OR PRISON COMMITMENTS OF ADULTS ESTABLISH A STRONG STATISTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS AND ADULT CRIME. WHILE A LARGE NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OR EMPLOYMENT, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE DIVERGENCE IN THE CONCLUSIONS REACHED. IN ADDITION ALL OF THESE STUDIES LACK A TRUE MEASURE OF DELINQUENCY, AND DETERMINATION OF INCIDENCE APPEARS GENERALLY TO BE BASED ON JUVENILE ARRESTS OR POLICE CONTACTS. WHERE RELATIONSHIPS ARE DEMONSTRATED, THEY ARE IN GENERAL NOT CONVINCING; AND PRACTICALLY ALL RESEARCHERS INDICATED METHODOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH DATA COLLECTION/ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES. A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE FACTORS ARE IDENTIFIED WHICH MAY ACCOUNT FOR THE LACK OF CONSISTENCY BETWEEN ADULT CRIME/EMPLOYMENT AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY/EMPLOYMENT FINDINGS. THESE INCLUDE DIFFERENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITY FOR ADULTS AND JUVENILES, DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF JUVENILE AND ADULT UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE DYNAMICS OF FAMILY LIFE AND YOUTH BEHAVIOR, LACK OF COMPARABILITY BETWEEN ADULT CRIMES AND ACTS COMPRISING 'JUVENILE DELINQUENCY,' AND LACK OF MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS FOR DETERMINING ACTUAL CRIMES COMMITTED. FURTHERMORE, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY TERMINOLOGY AND REPORTING OFFERS NO MEANS OF TRACKING THE AGE GROUP FOR WHICH EMPLOYMENT STATUS MAY BECOME A CRITICAL FACTOR. AN EXAMINATION OF TREND DATA FROM 1957 TO 1973 INDICATES A REASONABLY CLEAR TENDENCY FOR CASES TO EXCEED THE TREND LINE IN EMPLOYMENT GROWTH YEARS AND TO RECEDE FROM THE TREND LINE IN YEARS OF RISING UNEMPLOYMENT. WHILE VERY FEW SCHOOL/WORK INTERVENTION STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN WITH JUVENILE DELINQUENTS HAVE BEEN METHODICALLY EVALUATED, THOSE WHICH UTILIZED A CONTROL OR OTHER SYSTEMATIC MEANS OF EVALUATION GENERALLY FAILED TO SHOW ANY IMPACT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. HOWEVER, A NUMBER OF SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORS HAVE EMERGED AS POSSIBLE PREDICTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. THESE INCLUDE LIMITED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SCHOOL NORMLESSNESS, ASSOCIATION WITH DELINQUENT CLASSMATES, AND COMMITMENT TO PEERS. FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THESE EDUCATIONAL FACTORS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE QUALITY OF WORK EXPERIENCES AND THEIR IMPACT ON DELINQUENCY IS RECOMMENDED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)