Most people have preconceived ideas about the relationship between social class and delinquency. A common assumption is that lower-class youth are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than their upper-class counterparts. Criminologists have conducted numerous studies examining the sociodemographic characteristics of offenders, which have often yielded contradictory results. When analyzing the extent and trends of juvenile delinquency in the United States, conclusions can be drawn from estimates derived from arrest records, self-reports, and victimization data. Arrest estimates, self-reported information, and victimization data provide different estimates of the extent of crime in the United States (Maxfield et al., 2000). The relationship between social class and delinquency is assessed by examining studies based on arrest data and self-reports. -data reported. Early studies based on arrest data found that lower-class communities have much higher arrest rates than upper-class communities. Based on these studies, criminologists concluded that social class was strongly associated with delinquency. Early self-report studies of delinquency found little or no relationship between social class and delinquency. Self-report studies have discounted arrest data findings citing their biased nature. It has been claimed that offenses committed by lower-class juveniles are more likely to come to the attention of the police and therefore more likely to result in arrest (Hagan et al., 1985). Studies such as Chambliss' "The Saints versus the Roughnecks" explain why lower-class youth are perceived as more delinquent than their upper-class peers, citing reasons such as reduced visibility...... middle of article.... ..ugs (Agnew 1985).WORKS CITEDMaxfield, Michael G., Barbara Luntz Weiler and Cathy Spatz Widom. “Comparison of self-reports and official arrest records.” Journal Of Quantitative Criminology 16.1 (2000): 87. Hagan, John, AR Gillis, and John Simpson. “The class structure of gender and delinquency: toward a power control theory of common delinquent behavior.” » American Journal Of Sociology 90.6 (1985): 1151. Siegel, Larry J., Brandon C. Welsh “Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law.” Cengage Learning (2011): Wright, Bradley R. Entner, and C. Wesley Younts. “Reconsidering the relationship between race and crime: Positive and negative predictors of crime among African Americans.” » Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 46.3 (2009) Agnew, Robert. “A revised theory of delinquency”. Social forces 64.1 (1985): 151-167.