Older Children and Teenagers: With Special Reference to Delinquency

This chapter will be largely concerned with the problem of delinquency, for three reasons. Firstly, the size of the problem is such as to merit special consideration. Secondly, the term delinquency is used to encompass many problems which, alone, are not necessarily indicative of delinquency e.g. non-school attendance or family discord. Thirdly, many of these problems are found in teenagers who have not come before the courts, either through inconsistencies in the legal system or because of their age, that is, they are what Americans would term ‘predelinquent’.