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The aim of the present research was to qualitatively identify the factors of delinquency among juvenile delinquents and runaway children residing in shelter and to examine their perception of delinquency and Psychological well-being in detail. A sample of 10 juvenile delinquents and runaway adolescents (M = 5; F = 5) was taken from the two institutions functioning for the protection and welfare of such children in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection and Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) was carried out. Four major themes were drawn comprising thirteen subthemes; Factors of Delinquency (Subthemes; Socioeconomic and Familial factors, Behavioral factors and Situational factors), Psychological wellbeing (Subthemes; Change in Life, Life Satisfaction, Purpose in Life, Relationship Building and Self Perception of Productivity), Role of Parents (Subthemes; Value of Parents/Home and Advice for Parents) and Emotional Responses (Subthemes; Anger provoking incidents, Feelings during anxiousness and Defense mechanisms). A lack of financial support, an unpleasant home environment, child labor, a lack of parental love, a rebellious attitude, bad company, physical aggression, verbal taunts by family or parents, and parent‟s demand for forced labor are frequently reported among factors contributing to delinquency. Among psychological well-being indicators, satisfaction with present life, a sense of relief, learning skills, and good relations with others are frequently reported codes. The theme, „role of parents identified the importance of parents, their bread-earner role, and discouragement of child labor as repeated codes. The final major theme, „emotional responses highlighted the teasing behavior of others and aggression as frequently reported codes among anger-provoking incidents and feelings during anxiousness, respectively. As „Defense mechanisms, most participants reported low mood and staying silent. Overall this research helped to identify the problematic domains of juveniles‟ life to further address the intervention based solutions. 

Keywords: Delinquency, Psychological Wellbeing, Emotional Responses, Defense Mechanisms.