There have been few attempts to apply radical theory to delinquent behavior; rather, radical theorists have focused on the relation of juvenile law to the interests and ideologies of different groups in society. The proximate causes of delinquency in radical theories are diverse and comparable to other sociological theories. It is the attempt to identify the source of such proximate causes that distinguishes the radical perspective. Another issue for the 1980's in the sociology of delinquency should be the exploration of new measures of stratification for studying juveniles. A basic issue for the sociology of delinquency should be the delineation of characteristics which youth share and specific forms of stratification relevant to the daily experience of different age groups. Another issue is a reconsideration of the current behavioral conception of delinquency. Social surveys have not been used to pursue measurable distinctions among offenses; for example, whether an offense is committed for 'instrumental' or 'expressive' reasons has been posited as central to deterrence theory, yet some researchers have not attempted to assess the degree to which different activities are attributed to different offender motives. Another research issue is consideration of similarities and variations in delinquency among societies. Tests of competing theories of societal variation will require information on many variables besides the basic political economy. Twenty-six references are listed.