A child's self-esteem often comes from his status in a peer group, his family, his school life and society. With this in mind, society continues to decide to label young people as deviants, delinquents, and status offenders, which ultimately changes their own view of their self-image. This affects how young people perceive themselves and how they will play a role in society. It also affects how society will treat them later and whether or not they become outsiders. Labeling young people is an unnecessary evil that often turns children into criminals. To understand labeling, we must first look at its definition. Labeling theory is a theoretical approach to deviant behavior, essentially stating that applying formal definitions to an individual results in a negative self-concept that can subsequently motivate further acts of deviance. (Rush 203) Labeling became a popular perspective in the 1960s and 1970s, but it has also proven influential in current times. This theory was developed over the years by three prominent theorists: Frank Tannenbaum, Edwin M. Lemert, and Howard Becker. It is also known as the interactional theory of deviance and the social reaction perspective. Frank Tannenbaum is known for the first use of labeling theory in his book Crime and Community in 1938. "The process of creating the criminal is therefore a process of labeling, defining, identifying, separating, describing, emphasizing, rendering conscious and self-aware; it becomes a way of stimulating, suggesting, emphasizing and evoking the very traits of which one complains. (Tannenbaum) Labeling separates juveniles from their counterparts and changes their self-image as well as the way society and the justice system treats middle of paper......an evil that often turns children into criminals. Cited Bartollas, Clemens and Frank Schmalleger. “Schools and delinquency”. Juvenile delinquency. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall/Pearson, 2011. 207-08. Print. Bartollas, Clemens and Frank Schmalleger. “Social Interactionist Theories of Delinquency.” Juvenile delinquency. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson, 2011. 127-31. Print. Bartollas, Clemens and Frank Schmalleger. “Social Interactionist Theories of Delinquency.” Juvenile delinquency. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson, 2011. 142. Print. Fagin, James A. “The Juvenile Justice System.” CJ2011. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2012. 241. Print.Rush, George E. “Labeling Theory.” The Dictionary of Criminal Justice. 6th ed. Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 2003. 203-04. Print.