NCJ Number
147577
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 322 Dated: (March 1959) Pages: 97-106
Date Published
1959
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The impact of the Boston Delinquency Project, conducted in the 1950's, on the law-violating behavior of adolescent corner groups was researched using four major indexes of behavior change to test the effectiveness of group worker activities.
Abstract
The project's principal target of change was the value system of adolescent groups. The process of changing group values was predicated on the existence of substantial support for maintaining law-abiding behavior within the value system of the lower-class community itself. Preliminary findings indicated that group worker activities had a demonstrable impact on the law-violating behavior of group members and that correctional department commitment rates for project area residents compared favorably with those of an adjacent area and the State as a whole. Group worker activities also caused different impacts on various behavioral areas within the general pattern of group behavior and effected changes in patterns of intergroup relationships within the local community and among established youth organizations. While the project achieved limited but definite success in its major goal of inhibiting community delinquency, its true potential was not adequately tested due to factors hampering the efficient execution of planned procedures.