Summary This study was based on the premise that by selecting and defining research variables according to the theoretical criterion of personal and social control, we may more closely approach a total explanation of such forms of deviance as juvenile delinquency. Based on the reponses of 486 male and female high-school and introductory-level-university students, this exploratory test of the association between self-reported delinquency and the control concept indicated that four personal control and six social control variables accounted for 36% of the variance in the incidence of reported delinquency. Moreover, as hypothesized, of the four personal control factors, three were among the five variables accounting for most of the delinquency variance (with 30% of the variance being specified by the variable of deviance proneness alone), while, of the five variables contributing least to an explanation of delinquency, four were social control dimensions.