The 38 delinquents were randomly selected from a caseload of a groups of boys who were on probation for committing property offenses only and under direct supervision by a county juvenile court for 2 or more years. Repeater and nonrepeater groups, each with 19 subjects, were constructed. The repeater group was composed of boys who were returned to court 1 or more times within 2 years of being first placed on probation. The nonrepeater group had not been returned to court within 2 years of being first placed on probation. All 38 boys were on probation and being supervised by the same probation officer at the time of data collection. Four variables were measured, including moral maturity, socioeconomic status (income) of respondent's families, respondent's intelligence quotient (I.Q.), and age. Data for all variables except moral reasning were collected through an examination of each subject's case record. the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children was used to calculate I.Q. Moral maturity was assessed using Kohlberg's (1963) Moral Interview Method, in which subjects were read aloud each of five hypothetical moral dilemmas by the researcher. Twenty-five basic moral concepts, ranging from the value of a human life to the right of freedom, were presented in the stories. After the stories were read, a predetermined set of probes was administered depending on how the adolescents resolved the dilemma and what kinds of arguments they offered in support of their resolution. A global Moral Maturity Score (MMS) was calculated for each subject. The study results showed that, contrary to expectations, the 19 boys in the repeater group were significantly higher in moral maturity than those who were not returned to court. Thus, the study findings suggested that the traditional belief that adolescents who are more delinquent are less 'moral' may be unwarranted. Other ramifications of the study findings also are examined. One table, 1 footnote, and a list of 12 references are provided.