Book Reviews : Trends in the Services for Youth Edited by James H. Leicester and James Farndale Pergamon Press. £5
| DOI | 10.1177/026455056801400120 |
| Author | D.A. Mathieson |
| Date | 01 March 1968 |
| Published date | 01 March 1968 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
30
The
ideas
put
forward
in
Studies
of
Trocrblosomr
Children
make
sense,
not
only
in
the
family
environment
but
in
educational
and
cultural
terms,
too.
Not
only
does
Dr.
Stott
show
by
the
use
of
case
histories
that
maladjusted
behaviour
could
stem
from
congenital
neurologi-
cal
damage
but
he
also
uses
careful
and
clear
statistical
analyses
with
valid
con-
trols.
In
fact,
one
criticism
of
this
bool;
could
be
that
the
case
histories
do
not
contain
enough
information
for the
case-
worker
who
might
want
to
study
the
significant
factors
in
the
children’s
back-
grounds
in
detail
and
come
to
his
own
conclusions
as
to
the
weight
that
should
be
given
to
the
author’s
findings.
The
sociologists,
psychologist,
educa-
tionalist,
social
worker,
and
general
rea-
der
can
all
find
value
in
Dr.
Stott’s
re-
searches
and
observations,
even
if
not
prepared
to
accept
the
main
theme
of
congenital
impairment
causing
malad-
justment.
His
sections
on
the
influence
of
the
cultural
environment
on
the
de-
velopment
of
the
personality
are
par-
ticularly
valuable
and
may
well
help
the
tired
and
dispirited
social
worker
to
take
a
new
look
at
the
problems
that
present
themselves
in
children’s
beha-
viour.
Although
the
samples
have
been
,taken
from
the
Glasgow
area
which
many
sociologists
and
social
workers
tend
to
think
has
its
own
peculiar
pres-
sures
and
environmental
stresses,
Dr.
Stott’s
definition
of
maladjustment
is
such
that
it
can
be
used
universally.
He
describes
the
sorts
of
maladjustment
used
in
~his
study
as
&dquo;anything
that
is
liable
to
divide
or
disintegrate
the
family
or
the
in-group,
or
that
causes
personal
stress
beyond
the
limit
of
normal
for-
bea~rance&dquo;.
Studies
like
this
often
produce
interesting
sociological
information
alb-
out
a
particular
area
but
do
not
have
much
relevance
to
other
areas.
This
ac-
cusation
cannot
be
levelled
at
this
work;
the
opposite
is
the
case
and
one
feels
that
an
attempt
to
study
one’s
own
area
in
a
similar
way
might
well
produce
similar
results
and
would
certainly
add
to
the
greater
understanding
of
human
interaction
and
behaviour.
Practical,
preventive
measures
and
methods
of
treatment
are
suggested
and
Dr.
Stott’s
insistence
on
the
usefulness
of
school welfare
officers
based
in
the
school
has
recently
received
some
sup-
port
from
a
report
from
Manchester
that
the
rate
of
delinquency
in
a
for-
merly
&dquo;highly
delinquent&dquo;
school
has
been
remarkably
reduced
after
the
intro-
duction
of
such
a
school
welfare
offi-
cer.
Probation
oflicers,
please
be
humble!
J.
M.
WILSON
Trends
in
the
Services
for
Youth
Edited
by
James
H.
Leicester
and
James
Farndale
Pergamon
Press.
£5
It
is
frequently
said that
insufficient
is
done
for
young
people
in
this
country,
but
this
book
does
a
lot
to
belie
this
claim.
The
one
hundred
and
eleven
ar-
ticles
cover
over
six
hundred
pages.
The
index
of
authors
is
impressive
and
the
range
of
subject
matter
makes
this
&dquo;Not
so
much
a
book,
more
an
encyclo,pae-
dia.&dquo;
The
roots
of
most
aspects
of
our
Youth
Service
are
found
in
the
philan-
thropy
of
-the
second
half
of
the
last
century,
but
the
real
growth
and
blos-
soming
of
the
Youth
Service
date
from
the
1944
Education
Act.
There
was
the
notable
shot
in
the
arm
from
the
Albe-
marle
Report
in
1960,
so
that
now
our
Youth
Service
is
probably
the
most
ex-
tensive
in
the
world.
Section
one
of
this
book
is
a
general
review
of
the
background
and
current
trends
of
the
Youth
Service.
Section
two
describes
the
contribution
of
the
Loc’al
Authority
and
section
-three
that
of
Voluntary
O,rganisations.
Physical
recre-
ation,
sport
and
the
arts
are
covered
in
section
four.
Section
five
is
concerned
with
adolescent
problems
of
relation-
ships
and
adjustment
to
early
adult
life.
Section
six
concerns
health
and
wel-
fare
facilities
(including
an
article
by
our
own
Fred
Jarvis,
&dquo;The
Probation
Officer
and
Youth&dquo;,
which
describes
briefly
our
duties
with
young
offenders).
The
final
section
is
devoted
to
the
sohoolwork
transition
period.
Therefore,
this
book
shows
just
how
much
thought
and
activity
is
devoted
to
young
people
in
this
country.
However,
many
of the
young
people
with
whom
probation
-officers
work
do
not
come
To continue reading
Request your trial