Sad tales and happy tales: The politicization of delinquent life‐histories

Previous research has indicated that juvenile delinquents tend to highlight their dismal pasts and portray themselves as the victims of circumstances in order to elicit favorable responses from the various agents of social control. However, the present study, based on the life‐histories of two groups of Israeli delinquents, suggests that they sometimes engage in this particular kind of retrospective interpretation in order to bring about changes of a much more far‐reaching nature. Not only is it aimed at influencing the decision as to the appropriate agents of social contact; it also constitutes part of a wider struggle for political and cultural legitimacy.