In developing this text, we have sought to answer one overriding question: Why do juveniles commit crime? Unfortunately, although we present numerous theories on criminal behavior, there isn’t a single theory that completely answers the question. Each one, however, has some kernel of truth or in some way explains one or more of the reasons that youths commit crime. When reading the text, please keep in mind the role of the family, the process of socialization, and how society reacts to criminal misconduct as factors in ascertaining why youths commit crime. Also keep in mind that criminal misconduct is a very broad subject and describes many different types of human actions. To some extent, labeling all violations of criminal law by youths as a single group of actions, i.e., juvenile delinquency, may be part of the problem as we seek to identify causation factors. There is a sea of difference between the young female who shoplifts lipstick and the youth who is involved in a homicide.