NCJ Number
191166
Journal
Women, Girls & Criminal Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 5 Dated: August/September 2001 Pages: 65,66,77-78,79
Date Published
2001
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article draws attention and highlights feelings, views, and experiences of professionals who work on a daily basis with young girls in gender specific programs or coed programs within the State of Hawaii.
Abstract
Since there is very little research on girls in gender specific programs, there is virtually no research on professionals who work with them. Professionals who work with young girls tend to realize that the experiences young girls face today are more stressful from what workers recalled having encountered during their youth. The stresses and pressures girls face today are fueled by a variety of issues, such as confusion about being female, sex, stressful family situations, boyfriends, and work and school. Many of the participants in this study did not find that girls were more difficult to work with. In fact, they likes working with them for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons included the following: girls were more communicative, less violent, and there were fewer of them. Most complaints that were indicated within this study included the following: lack of programming available to adolescent girls, low pay, and individual choices that these girls made. Once the study was concluded, the researchers suggested improvements. These suggestions included the following: provide network opportunities for staff, re-examine existing services, encourage responsiveness to gender differences, and expand research on young women, particularly among different cultural and socioeconomic groups.