ABSTRACT
In recent years a theory of delinquency, the delinquent subculture thesis, has been advanced which has had an enormous influence on delinquency prevention and control programs throughout the United States. In the present paper we will show: first, that the subculture thesis, and the general class of theories of which it is a part, are unable to account satisfactorily for crucial aspects of the phenomena of delinquency; and second, that these phenomena can be better explained by an alternative class of formulations currently categorized as social control theories, when these theories are modified in ways suggested below.
