ABSTRACT
Explanations for delinquency are an important area of inquiry in the field of juvenile justice. Under
parens patriae
, the juvenile justice system was created to identify the problems associated with troubled youths, under the assumption that each child’s condition would be diagnosed and treated. From a policy perspective, the intent of this approach has been to drive the development of treatment programming, and it begins with an understanding of why young people get into trouble in the first place.
