There is growing awareness of the common difficulties experienced by poor young people who grow up in cities--crime and juvenile delinquency, limited access to education, the spread of infectious diseases, homelessness, and high rates of unprotected sex. They must contend with weak families and social institutions, poor labor market prospects, and for the most unfortunate, the ravages of gang war and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Chapters in this volume present and assess comparative evidence on the well-being of urban youth and proven interventions for assuaging the deleterious effects of poverty.

Research clearly indicates that ethnic groups differ significantly on levels of mental and physical health, antisocial behavior, and educational attainment. This book explains these variations with respect to their psychological and social functioning and tests competing hypotheses about the mechanisms that might cause the functioning to differ in pattern from other groups. Attention is paid to educational attainments, antisocial behavior, schizophrenia and suicide, and to the complex and changing patterns of ethnic identity. The book concludes with a discussion of the multiple meanings of...

Research clearly indicates that ethnic groups differ significantly on levels of mental and physical health, antisocial behavior, and educational attainment. This book explains these variations with respect to their psychological and social functioning and tests competing hypotheses about the mechanisms that might cause the functioning to differ in pattern from other groups. Attention is paid to educational attainments, antisocial behavior, schizophrenia and suicide, and to the complex and changing patterns of ethnic identity. The book concludes with a discussion of the multiple meanings of...