After reading this chapter, you should be able to

• Describe why juveniles are treated differently than adults
• Explain the difference between juvenile delinquency and status offenses
• Summarize the three conceptions of delinquency and how they relate to our responses to juvenile delinquency
• Identify the social context in which juveniles are living and its effect on the well-being of children
• Compare and contrast the concepts of individual and institutional racism, classism, and sexism
• Explain why intersectionality is important
• Describe the role of the sociological imagination in explaining the societal response to juvenile delinquency