NCJ Number
180791
Date Published
1999
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This introduction to a book on youth problems and youth development summarizes the contents of the subsequent chapters, which present research on youths ages 16-23 years who are disconnected from school or employment and may be involved in drugs and crime; the book also focuses on ways to promote youth development and opportunity.
Abstract
The introduction notes that the common characteristic of school dropouts; graduates who become involved in drug abuse, crime, or both instead of gainful employment; and unmarried adolescent parents who spend years on welfare is that they spend a crucial period of their lives disconnected from the broader society. It reports that the subsequent papers argue that youthful disconnectedness is widespread, that disconnectedness is most visible in the contemporary inner city, that youth disconnected for brief periods do not seem to suffer serious social or economic problems, and that youth disconnected for 3 or more years suffer long-term social and economic problems. Additional papers explore the impact of family and church on achievement, explain the important role of supportive schools, argue that career-oriented education can have multiple positive effects on students, and recommend that individual schools develop explicit missions about the skills their graduates are expected to have acquired and the ways in which they will teach those skills. Further papers focus on various approaches to engaging students during afternoon hours and long summer breaks, current youth development programs, and preventive interventions based on strong relationships between youth and adults. Tables, figures, note, and 14 references