FEMALE JUVENILE-DELINQUENCY - MISUNDERSTOOD BY THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, NEGLECTED BY SOCIAL-SCIENCE

The study of juvenile delinquency has focused primarily on conduct dis order and aggression in males, while relatively little attention has b een paid to females who commit delinquent acts. This article offers a critical review of the existing theories of and research on female del inquency and the juvenile justice system's response to female delinque ncy. The inadequacies and persistence of historical theories and the c onceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses of contemporary perspectives in female delinquency are reviewed. Understanding and tre atment of female and male delinquency could be enhanced through the ad option of a gender-integrated theory of delinquency that is informed b y the comprehensive study of developmental, psychological, and social- ecological determinants.