NCJ Number
83095
Journal
Deviance et societe Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (1980) Pages: 349-370
Date Published
1977
Length
22 pages
Annotation
New towns provide a setting for the observation of marginal and deviant groups (particularly juveniles) as they emerge from newly forming social constellations (i.e., as the process of marginalization takes place).
Abstract
Three aspects of newly developed urban settlements are interrelated -- the physical infrastructure, the interrelationships of residents that form the social structure, and the residents' demographic makeup. This last factor is particularly important since the juvenile segment far outnumbers the proportion of young adults, thus contributing to a discontinuity perceived between youths and adults. Juvenile groups from different levels of society exhibit different forms of conflict, however, marked by the class from which they originate. Upper-class juveniles respond with anomie, middle class youths with opposition, and the lower class with endemic delinquency. Thus, juveniles do not form a cohesive subculture. From an interactionist perspective, instead of breaking off from their respective social context, deviant juvenile groups remain a part of the internal power structures of their respective social milieu. Marginals are not outsiders of the system; they are rather one of the elements that constitute the system. The theory is supported by observations of social grouping patterns and juvenile behavior in the public and commercial areas and residential neighborhoods in a planned European town. Tabular data and 17 references are given.