NCJ Number
146907
Date Published
1954
Length
233 pages
Annotation
This study of juvenile delinquency, the outcome of the author's experiences as a youth worker in Liverpool, England, attempts to discover how juveniles live and spend their leisure time and what part delinquent behavior plays in meeting their basic needs.
Abstract
The author suggests that individual problems of juveniles need to be studied, as well as their social and institutional environment. He focuses on the inner-city environment faced by boys by discussing the behavior, attitudes, and social relations of 80 boys growing up in an impoverished area of Liverpool. He contends that the urban environment is characterized by poverty, neglect and exploitation, and behavioral tendencies culturally transmitted from generation to generation. Therefore, for most boys, delinquent behavior is not so much a manifestation of individual maladjustment as it is part of the total process of adjustment to a conflict subculture. Consideration is given to characteristics of the inner-city neighborhood, patterns of social life and delinquency, and the scope and effectiveness of helping agencies. The author concludes that juvenile delinquency is merely one aspect of behavioral patterns in underprivileged neighborhoods. Appendixes provide additional information on juvenile delinquency and police response, along with selected case histories. Footnotes and tables