Middle Class Youth

Although most, if not all, of the sociological literature on youth subcultures has focused on explanations for the behaviour of working-class youth, there is a strong possibility that middle-class children also develop youth subcultures (and indulge in deviant activities) without necessarily attracting the kinds of delinquent or deviant labels that are attached to working class children. This, of course, makes middle-class groups less socially-visible than their working-class counterparts.

One reason for this may be that, because of their outward show of basic conformity, deviance by middle-class children is more-likely to be individualised and rationalised as a "passing phase" or "falling-in with a bad lot" etc. That is, it represents something that can be corrected if caught early enough. Working class delinquency, on the other hand, is much more likely to be seen as something to be punished.

In this way, middle class youth subcultures may not be interpreted (by the mass media, for example) as subcultural activity and it is, thus, not brought to the attention of a wider audience.