Four chapters on the characteristics of juvenile delinquency consider the nature and extent of delinquency, the juvenile court, delinquent personality types, and social class and delinquency. Two chapters on the juvenile in a violent society focus on violence against children and its impact on their delinquent behavior, as well as patterns of delinquency violence. In addressing the gang problem, two chapters discuss the contemporary gang problem and theoretical viewpoints on gangs. Two chapters on substance abuse examine what it is like for juveniles to grow up in a substance-abusing society and review drugs used, their impact, and treatment issues. The causes of crime and delinquency are addressed in three chapters that examine the family and the socialization process, early theories of crime and delinquency causation and their contemporary development, and sociological causation theories. Three chapters on the prevention, treatment, and control of delinquency consider community treatment programs for delinquents, custodial institutions for delinquents, and treatment methods and strategies used in community prevention projects and custodial institutions. The two chapters on therapeutic communities discuss the history, methodology, and development of the therapeutic community approach, as well as the "experience" therapist and social systems for treating the delinquency problem. 310 references, a subject index, and appended juvenile delinquency arrest statistics for 1997