THE CHILDREN WERE ALL FROM ONE BRITISH CITY. INDEPENDENT RATERS USED THE REPORTS TO ASSESS THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF 42 VARIABLES RELATED TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S BEHAVIOR, EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS, FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS, AND INVOLVEMENT WITH SOCIAL WORK AGENCIES. IN ADDITION, FOR 68 OF THE CHILDREN, TEACHERS HAD COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES MEASURING PSYCHIATRIC DISTURBANCE, WHICH WERE ALSO USED IN THE ANALYSIS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THREE INDEPENDENT SETS OF CHARACTERISTICS WERE OBSERVED IN TRUANTS TAKEN TO COURT. ANTISOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS WERE RELATED TO CLINICAL TRUANCY, WHICH IS NORMALLY CONSIDERED TO BE THE MAJOR FORM OF TRUANCY. A SECOND SET OF FACTORS INCLUDED ADVERSE SOCIAL FACTORS AND PARENTAL COMPLICITY, AND WAS RELATED TO A SECOND KIND OF TRUANCY (SCHOOL WITHDRAWAL). IN THESE CASES, SOCIALLY DEVIANT PARENTS ENCOURAGE THE CHILD TO BE ABSENT. A THIRD KIND OF TRUANCY, TERMED 'SCHOOL REFUSAL,' WAS RELATED TO SOCIAL ISOLATION AS MANIFESTED BY HAVING FEW FRIENDS. MOST OF THE CHILDREN STUDIED EXHIBITED ALL OF THESE SETS OF CHARACTERISTICS IN VARYING DEGREES AND, THEREFORE, COULD NOT BE PLACED IN DISTINCT CATEGORIES. GIRLS, HOWEVER, TENDED TO HAVE MORE PROBLEMS WITH SOCIAL ISOLATION; BOYS, WITH BEHAVIORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS. RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT TRUANCY LEADING TO COURT ACTION IS NOT A HOMOGENEOUS CONDITION AND THAT SUCH TRUANTS MAY NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM TRUANTS IN CLINICS. A FIGURE, TABLES, FOOTNOTES, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)