An Emphasis on Black Youth in America, Kojo A.Dei,in's book ‘Ties That Bind: Youth and Drugs in a Black Community

Juvenile Delinquency Kojo A.Dei,in his book ‘Ties That Bind: Youth and Drugs in a Black Community’, has given insight in to an important aspect and concern that faces the US in this era. Emphasizing on the black youth in America, Dei gives the relationship of the black youth with the drugs, the influences of society and the cultural influences that build those relationships. As is given Dei’s vivid presentation of the portraits of five youths—the emic point of view—reveals individual thought processes that shape behavior and attitudes. Ties That Bind is not about despised antisocial individuals whose morals are debased. Instead, it is about people who are attempting to achieve success as members of their family, their community, and the larger society as well. In particular, Dei links drug use and sales by Black youths to the larger political economy. This engaging, thought-provoking study replaces misconceptions with authenticity to provide a comprehensive understanding of the drug phenomenon in a minority neighborhood”. While in ‘Ain’t no makin’ it’, Jay Macleod “looks at the aspirations and attainment of two different groups in a low income neighborhood of the Clarendon heights public housing project. Several years of intensive fieldwork allowed Macleod to identify and track two very distinct groups over a period of twelve years. This fieldwork along with the use of several theoretical frameworks looks at unraveling the “American ideology”, the realities of economic inequalities, social status, and immobility in what many consider the land of opportunity. Macleod identifies two groups in his sample within the Clarendon Heights housing project, the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers. This research project intimately looks at ...

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... must be considered is that individuals have different reactions to certain types of strain and subjectively view different types of objective strain. Agnew also noted several processes that must be employed in order to get an effective measure of strain. First, the researcher must develop a comprehensive list of negative circumstances that can result in strain. In this process it must be taken into account that strain is experienced differently by each individual. Also, the specific situations must be objectively identified along with variables that can determine the individual’s reaction to strain. To obtain an effective measure of strain, the cumulative impact of negative relations must be taken into account. It is not entirely clear whether this relationship is additive or interactive. Another factor that must be considered is the presence of positive relations.