NCJ Number
99656
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: (1985) Pages: 159-170
Date Published
1985
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Relying largely on D. Winnicott's ideas about transitional objects and phenomena, this article reviews the ways in which group experience can be psychologically meaningful, even necessary, for many young people; it distinguishes between healthy and antisocial uses of the group.
Abstract
Some theorists have concluded that the group provides several transitional and developmental functions for youth. It has security value, offers opportunities for exploration experimentation, and provides a chance for interpersonal skills development. The group supports members as they work through negative feelings toward authority figures and give up omnipresent fantasies concerning authority figures like their parents. One opposing view argues that the group has a pathological function, one of evasion and giving protection and escape from the dangerous, outside world. This concept helps to explain the possible emotional dynamics underlying the behavior of youth gangs whose activities are not being used in a transition fashion to promote involvement with the outside world, but rather to prevent interaction with the larger society. Study of ways in which groups can be organized to help youth to work through developmental issues in a prosocial fashion is recommended. Approximately 30 references are included.