We have provided a brief overview of some of the attempts to explain delinquency. It should be
clear at this point that, using our definition of theory, few if any of these attempts have resulted in
explanations that are scientifically sound. Many have been more or less discarded over time, and
others continue to provide leads that need to be pursued. Bridging the gap between theory and
practice is crucial to controlling delinquency and to improving the juvenile justice network. The
input of practitioners is extremely useful in testing our theoretical statements. The benefits to be
reaped, if and when a sound theoretical base is established, are considerable. We can no longer
afford to ignore the importance of theory, nor can we continue to rely on commonsense notions
of causation that are, as we have seen, very often inaccurate.