YOUTH CRIMES APPEAR TO BE MORE FREQUENT AND SERIOUS IN URBAN, INDUSTRIAL, AND AFFLUENT SOCIETIES; THE OFFENSES PERPETRATED ARE GENERALLY AGAINST PROPERTY AND ARE COMMITTED BY YOUNGER MALES, ALTHOUGH OFFENSES COMMITTED BY YOUNG FEMALES ARE INCREASING. THREE LOCALITIES -ARGENTINA, THE UNITED STATES, AND ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND -REPRESENTING A RANGE OF RESPONSES FROM THE LARGELY LEGALISTIC DEFINITIONS OF VIOLATIONS OF THE PENAL CODE IN ARGENTINA TO A NONLEGALISTIC, SOCIAL WELFARE PERSPECTIVE IN SCOTLAND ARE STUDIED. THE STUDIES ARE DESCRIPTIVE, NOT ANALYTIC, BUT THEY DO RAISE A BASIC POLICY QUESTION REGARDING WHETHER THE JUVENILE COURT IS IN FACT A COURT OR A SOCIAL AGENCY. FOLLOWING DESCRIPTIONS OF JUVENILE COURT STRUCTURES, AN EXAMINATION IS UNDERTAKEN OF THE EFFECTS OF EXISTING POLICY AS BACKGROUND FOR DISCUSSION OF THE FUTURE DIRECTION POLICY SHOULD TAKE AND OF CLUES TO THE DYNAMICS OF ADJUDICATION. MODES OF ADAPTATION AND GAME BEHAVIOR AT TWO JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS ARE EXAMINED; IT IS ARGUED THAT JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT UNLIKE ADULT CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES IN THAT THEY ARE CRUEL, BRUTAL, AND VIOLENT. THE CONTROVERSY REVOLVING AROUND THE ISSUE OF LABELLING IS UNDERSCORED; A PREDICTION OF RECIDIVISM IS ATTEMPTED ON THE BASIS OF OFFICIAL COURT DATA AND INSIGHTS ARE OFFERED INTO THE PREDICTABILITY OF GENERAL SOCIAL BACKGROUND AND OFFENSE CHARACTERISTICS. A REDEFINITION OF THE IMPACT OF THE ADJUDICATION PROCESS AND THE EXPERIENCES OF YOUTH IN A DELINQUENCY TREATMENT CENTER IS ATTEMPTED. THE THEME OF THE REMAINING SELECTIONS IS SOCIAL INTEGRATION -- THE VARIABLES MITIGATING FOR OR AGAINST IT. HIDDEN DELINQUENCY AND JUDICIAL SELECTION IN BELGIUM, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE NEW TOWNS OF ISRAEL, OBSERVATIONS AND PROPOSALS REGARDING DELINQUENCY PREVENTION THROUGH FATHERHOOD TRAINING, THE DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE AT WORK IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND DELINQUENCY, PATTERNS OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND YOUTH CRIME AS REGARDS INTEGRATION AND PREVENTION, THE BALANCE OF SOCIAL STATUS GROUPINGS WITHIN SCHOOLS AS AN INFLUENCE ON THE FREQUENCY AND CHARACTER OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR, AND A PUERTO RICAN DIVERSION MODEL FOR THE PREVENTION OF DELINQUENCY THROUGH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION ARE EXAMINED. TABLES AND FIGURES ARE INCLUDED. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED AT THE CLOSE OF EACH SELECTION. (KBL)