The Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study was a research project aimed at investigating the effectiveness of sponsorship and counseling in reducing juvenile delinquency. The study was conducted between 1939 and 1974 and followed two groups of juvenile delinquents: a control group and a test group. The control group consisted of boys who were simply asked to report regularly, while the test group received sponsorship and received academic tutoring, medical and psychiatric attention, and referrals to various programs such as the YMCA, Boy Scouts, and summer camps.Initially, the study appeared to show little difference between the two groups, and this remained the case for the next 10 to 20 years. However, after 30 years, the results of the study were surprising. The test group that had received treatment was doing worse in life than the control group. They were found to be more likely to commit crimes, become alcoholics, have serious mental health issues, have stress-related diseases, and have less prestigious jobs that they were more dissatisfied with. The hypothesis behind this outcome is that labeling the boys as delinquents and sending them through treatment made the label stick, while the control group was able to view their delinquency as a phase that they would eventually pass through, rather than as a permanent aspect of who they are. Some people theorize that the help the test group received prevented them from developing the self-governance they needed to do well later in life.
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