A comprehensive review of the subject of recidivism is presented. It is found that sociological and simplistic psychological theories of crime and delinquency fail to explain variations in individual outcome under similar social conditions. It seems that severely deprived and traumatized children from disorganized multiproblem families commonly develop ego pathology typical of the borderline disorders; the children contribute disproportionately to the numbers of recidivist delinquents. In a classification of adult criminal behavior based on the nature and severity of disturbances in the three mental agencies, it is found that the less the ego pathology, the more is criminal behavior attributable to disturbances of superego development.