NCJ Number
149141
Journal
Sociology and Social Research Volume: 48 Dated: (January 1964) Pages: 207-219
Date Published
1964
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Youth workers who worked with adolescent street clubs were studied to identify and determine the relationships among factors assumed to affect their work.
Abstract
The research was conducted through a research-action program, the Chicago Youth Development Project, an experimental 6-year action and research program in juvenile delinquency prevention and control. At the beginning of the study, the action program had been operating for 18 months and involved 645 males ages 10-19 in three inner-city areas with high delinquency rates. Each of the seven workers provided ratings for youths with whom they were in contact with respect to program exposure, the worker's influence over the youth, mutual confidence and trust, success, the worker's liking for the youth, the youth's liking for the worker, the delinquency known to the worker, time spent with the youth, time of acquaintance, and the youth's need for help. Correlation analysis revealed a basic coherence in the way workers view and go about their work. The workers programmed heavily for their youths, saw them fairly often, and felt that they had considerable influence, although they were often unsuccessful even after forming these positive relationships. Thus, street club work does not yet consist of a standardized set of practices that produces standardized results. Tables and 6 references