NCJ Number
147190
Journal
Social Service Review Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: (1959) Pages: 219-236
Date Published
1959
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the nature and characteristics of urban lower class culture and their implications for social work with persons influenced by this culture.
Abstract
The author develops the thesis that there is a substantial segment of current American society whose way of life, values, and characteristic behavioral patterns are the product of a distinctive cultural tradition that may be called "lower class." The size of this group is not decreasing, and the characteristic behavioral patterns are not appreciably modified by rising income levels. Its potential for upward social movement is inhibited by cultural mechanisms that impeded significant modification of class-related behavioral patterns. The major outline of its cultural tradition, rather than becoming closer to that of the middle class, is becoming more stabilized and distinctive. There are many subtypes of lower class culture. One subtype is described in this paper. Its features include the female-based household, serial marriage, the one-sex peer group as a major unit, the emphasis on "toughness" and"masculinity" in male culture, the demands of the male occupational role, and the "readiness" of women to engage in mating and occupational activity. The discussion of the implications of lower class culture for social work focuses on the definition of treatment goals. At issue is the social worker's perception of what is best and possible for individuals and families conditioned by lower class culture.