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Working in a Diamond Mind: Po lsky's Insight on Youth Subcultures

Joseph Mullen

Drawing on Polsky's classic study of a delinquent subculture, the author provides a diagnostic tool for un derstanding and transforming negative youth climates in educational and treatment settings.

n the spring 1996 issue of Reclaiming Children and Youth, J. Gibbs, Potter, Goldstein, and Brendtro (1996) wrote about the EQUIP Program as an intervention model for working with difficult youngsters. Their article was one of several in that issue that focused on the topic of bullies in the social arena of children and youth. In this treatise, they cited the research done by Dr. Howard Polsky on delinquent subcultures during the 1960s. It was of particular interest to me because it drew at tention to Polsky's work, from which I have consistently drawn when training residential care and education staff. In 1 962, Polsky published what became for many residential-care workers a classic study of negative youth subculture: Cottage Six: The Social Systems of Delinquent Boys in Residential Treatment. Based on his research at a res idential school in New York, Cottage Six provided major in sight into the subculture and relationship dynamics of the adolescent peer group. Fundamentally, Polsky found that the social pecking order that existed in the delinquent res idential peer group had significant influence on the activ ity and behaviors of the individuals within the group . He determined that the group's power structure set and en forced norms and that individuals within the group were influenced by these behavioral expectations. Ironically, this power structure was often hidden, operating beneath the surface and out of the sight of the caretakers who were involved with the group (Polsky, 1962). The importance of this research to actual practice was that it revealed the influence of a peer group's social pecking order on the behavior of the group members. In particular, it revealed the negative impact on classrooms and treat ment programs when the group was composed of trou bled youth with negative attitudes. Equipped with this understanding, teachers and caretakers were in a position to develop more intelligent management strategies for dealing with these individuals and their behavior.

I had the opportunity to meet Polsky in 1969, when I was a rookie cottage supervisor at the Youth Development Center (YOC) in Loysville, Pennsylvania. (Loysville is a state-run facility for adjudicated male delinquents.) I had volunteered to meet Polsky at Harrisburg International Airport and transport him the 40 miles to Loysville, where he was presenting an inservice for the staff. The I-hour trip was an opportunity for a novice practitioner to be with one of the icons in the field; our one-on-one discussion during that ride is the reason I have held his work in such high re gard for all these years.

Polsky's Diamond
In his work, Polsky described a hierarchy of power that he portrayed as a stratified diamond (see Figure 1). The dia mond suggests that the youth group hierarchy is not un like that of most groups and organizations and can best be understood as a structure with little room at the top and the bottom and plenty of room in the middle. A few lead ers and lieutenants (enforcers) fill the space at the top of the diamond, a few scapegoats and status seekers ("bush boys") are at the bottom, and most of the group members are in the middle. The leaders were usually the more intel ligent youth in the group. The lieutenants were the physi cally strong individuals who carried out the leaders' orders. The middle group members were fundamentally followers. The status seekers were youth looking for ac ceptance and upward mobility (recognition); the scape goats were the weak and devalued persons (Polsky, 1962) . Understanding the hierarchy of the diamond and the be haviors that occur in relation to it can be invaluable to youth-care workers and educators. For example, the be havior of bullies is often influenced by the dynamics of the diamond. The psychological need for power, status, and strangely enough-acceptance operating within the indi vidual and coupled with the opportunity to victimize can

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lieutenants members
status seekers
scapegoats

nize that a young member 's need for status makes him or her ready to do almost anything). The attempted mission went sour when Yummy sprayed a group of youth with 9mm bullets and mistakenly killed a 14-year-old girl. Her death brought a high level of police attention to the gang, and the gang leadership attempted to reduce this attention by handing Yummy over to the authorities-tragically, by killing him (N. R. Gibbs, 1994). Yummy's search for status and acceptance, often referred to as "respect" on the streets, was a reaction to group norms imposed and reinforced by the group power struc ture. This influence was so strong that an ll-year-old was willing to commit murder. Unfortunately for Yummy, his value to the gang was minimal: He was low in status and he had few friends, which made it easy for the gang to re ject and eventually destroy him. The pecking order of the diamond and the behavioral norms that exist within it are driving forces for behavior that occurs among youth in any group. Although Polsky's research focused on a delinquent group in residential care, one need look no further than the diamond of the local high school athletic team to see an example of the same dynamics. Until team leader and member roles are estab lished, teamwork is sporadic. Once roles and functions are solidified-the lineup is set-team behavior occurs. When a new athlete joins the team, the pecking order game be gins anew, just as it does when a new youth arrives in the residential care facility or a classroom. For the individuals involved, the identity questions of "Who am I?" and "Where do I fit?" continue to occur and fuel the behavior dynamics in the diamond. Establishing the self in relation to others is a fundamental human issue. For adolescents, it represents social power and becomes a burning issue. Viewing this behavior as jockeying for position is, how ever, an oversimplification. Stimulating each individual's desire for role clarification in the social hierarchy are the psychic needs for power, belonging, and achievement within the group. Youth are motivated to join gangs for the same reasons-they are seeking a sense of connection and self definition (American Psychological Commission on Youth Violence, 1993) . The individual's history of success or fail ure in the meeting of these needs is also involved. In short, individuals enter the diamond with driving needs and also with a history of thinking, feeling, and behaving and a history of consequences received regarding the pursuit of these needs. It follows, then, that satisfying these needs has much to do with the behavior seen in the diamond.

F I G U R E 1 . Polsky's d i a m o nd.

create an enforcer (bully) mentality (Olweus, 1993; Perry, Kusel, & Perry, 1988; Smith & Sharp, 1994) . The evolution of a bully usually begins with behavior targeted at the most vulnerable group members-the scapegoats. These individuals are seen as fair game because they are deval ued by their peers (Dodge, 1986), and because most groups will tolerate the victimization of scapegoats, this behavior is not usually challenged (Butkowski, Sippola, & Biovin, 1995; Hodges, Alone, & Perry, 1995). As he or she gains ex perience and confidence, the bully may start to victimize other group members. At some point in this evolution, the bully may choose a pivotal victim (one who has power and respect in the group, i.e., friends). Depending on group composition, this choice can result in significant conflict within the group, with various alliances being formed. In addition, it may result in ostracism of the bully from the group, a change in the bully's behavior, or even the eleva tion of the bully to a leadership position. When these dy namics are occurring, there is chaos in the group, making it a management nightmare for teachers and caretakers. More illustrative of the dynamics of the diamond may be the tragedy of Robert "Yummy" Sanderford, the ll-year old Chicago youth who, in searching for status and accep tance, attempted to carry out what was believed to be a retaliation ordered by his gang, the Black Disciples. That retaliation subsequently turned the leadership of the gang against him. Yummy is believed to have been sent on a mission of revenge that had been sparked by a drug feud or personal insult. (Missions are often carried out by the youngest members in the gang, because the leaders recog1 70

Individual Needs
Power can be defined as the real or perceived capacity to influence your life in the present. It is the feeling and ex-

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perience of being in control. When we are the driver of the car, we are in control. When we are the passenger, we are not.

Belonging relates to the human need for acceptance-to be part of something outside of ourselves. Belonging answers our need for safety and security. It also assists in our self definition. Wearing the gang colors, for example, is not different from wearing the varsity jacket. The difference occurs in the individual's response to the behavioral ex pectations within the group. Achievement, the need for status, is probably the most pivotal driving force in that its satisfaction will stimulate the highest degree of volatile behavior. For example, for adolescents on the street, respect is everything. There is no tolerance for disrespect. Respect brings power and the ca pacity to influence and control your life. Yummy Sander ford needed very much to belong, but he also needed respect. The behavior with which this ll-year-old reasoned he could most easily guarantee both was to carry out the retaliation mission the gang had given him. Going to the extreme to belong and to have recognition was Yummy's mistake. But, from his perspective, there were few options. To be part of the group and to be someone, Yummy had to perform. In his group, performance included the barbaric rite of passage of shooting a rival.
For many young people, behavior choices, while fueled by individual needs, are largely controlled by the diamond in which they happen to be. When (with very limited talent) I played high school basketball, I gained the respect of my teammates by diving on the floor for any loose ball. I could not gain respect with my limited basketball skills, but I could do it through displays of crazy courage. The floor of the youth center that was our home court was wood on top of concrete. To say the least, it was very hard. However, belonging to the team and having respect and, ultimately, social power were more substantial motivators than was the logical conclusion that the frequent tossing of one's body onto such a surface was stupid. In my own defense, I was not the only one who did it. It became an expectation-a rite of passage-that we, a team with little talent (2 wins, 18 losses), imposed on ourselves; we wore our bruises proudly. Even when a free ball was clearly bouncing off the court, you would see three or four mem bers of our team diving on the floor. As might be expected, the most active pursuit of this expectation was demon strated by the only sophomore (status seeker) on this team of upperclassmen. This behavior was driven by the same dynamic that drives some of the lethal behavior of contemporary street gangs. The American Psychological Commission on Youth Vio lence report on youth violence cited such factors as leader power needs, overcompensation for inadequate self-esteem,

and acting out to obtain group regard as significant indi vidual motivations related to gang violence (American Psy chological Commission, 1993). Of course, the solutions to the current escalation of violent behavior by youth will in volve more than exchanging guns for basketballs. Guns and basketballs are simply the tools of the game. The solu tions will be found in a capacity to positively influence the dynamics of the game and, to a degree, to positively define the league (diamond) in which you are playing. Although the behaviors just described are dramatically different, the needs that drive the behavior and the expec tations that are imposed by the relationship dynamics of the diamond are the same. The influence that the peer group has with developing adolescents is significant and, ironically, is largely unrecognized by these individuals when it occurs. In this respect, the influence that the group has on adolescents might cause them to be described as the "unconscious socially incompetent": They don't know they are being in fluenced and they don't know that they don't know. When teachers and caretakers operate without an under standing of the dynamics of the diamond, they also join this "unconscious" category. For teachers and youth-care workers the challenge lies in assisting the adolescent to achieve a level of "conscious so cial competence," that is, knowing you have social knowl edge and being able to use it. Achieving this level requires the development of social skills and personal insight-sig nificant accomplishments for the average adolescent and very often monumental ones for youth who have been de velopmentally damaged. The process of social growth and development for each adolescent must be understood as occurring within the framework of his or her respective di amond(s). (The plural is added to suggest that humans op erate in numerous overlapping diamonds and that each has influence in our development.) In short, if teachers and youth-care workers are vehicles of intervention in the de velopmental process of the youth in their care, it makes sense for them to use their understanding of the dia mond(s) in this intervention.

Using the Diamond


The diamond has several obvious uses in the delivery of service:

as a diagnostic tool by which behavior can be analyzed and understood, to develop behavioral management and education strategies for individuals and groups, and in organizing and operating recreation opportunities.

The knowledge of the hierarchy-Who are the leaders, lieutenants, members, status seekers and scapegoats?-is
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invaluable in day-to-day interactions with youth. The sur face behavior-the day-to-day compliance and coopera tion of the youth group-can be controlled by the relationships the adult has with the youth in his or her charge, especially the recognized group leaders. When this relationship is positive, everyday tasks are more easily ac complished; when it is negative, there can be significant difficulty with the simplest routines. Therefore, identify ing the leaders and establishing cooperative rapport with them and the other youth is critical. In addition, it remains absolutely imperative to identify youth who operate in the scapegoat roles. These youth are likely to need the protec tion of the adult in charge, as they are the frequent victims of misguided behavior of individuals in the group. Al though the scapegoats present a significant challenge, they also present wonderful opportunities for adults to impart important social lessons to youth regarding human differ ence and human dignity. The astute use of the diamond's various roles, coupled with unfulfilled needs, can bring about quantum leaps in education, growth, and development. This is most easily seen in the example of the status (recognition) seeker who can be assigned a task that will provide an opportunity for positive recognition. When youth in search of recognition accomplish assigned tasks, they can be reinforced. This youth is a prime candidate for positive social learning. For certain, the behavior involved in the assigned activity can be easily stimulated into repetition and thereafter into habit. Yummy Sanderford had the appetite for status that might have allowed intelligent intervention to be success ful with him. Unfortunately, had he been successful in his mission, he would probably have received the recognition that would have guaranteed his willingness to accept other lethal assignments. He was caught in a diamond that lacked concerned adults to intervene with him-the wrong diamond. Sometimes even the supposedly right diamond can be wrong. For example, almost every school board in this country has instituted policies regarding weapons in school. These policies of banishment are driven more by political correctness than they are by an intelligent under standing of the mission of educating youth. Youth show up in school with weapons for various reasons. Some in tend to use the weapon, some bring them for protection from perceived threats, some bring them to gain status, and some don't even know they have a weapon. When the governing policies are limited to automatic expulsion, sig nificant social learning opportunities are missed. Youth who intend to use weapons must be ostracized from the educational environment. On the other hand, other choices are available for youth who have other reasons for carry ing a weapon:

Those who have weapons because they are being scapegoated and are operating out of fear can be helped to feel safe. Those who have weapons because they have incorrect perceptions can be helped to see clearly. Those who have weapons because they need status can be helped to find it in a more acceptable way. Those who don't know they have weapons can be helped to understand.

To dismiss all of these youth without recognizing their various motives and without considering the learning op portunity that their misbehavior has provided for their teachers is an error (Farner, 1996) . It is particularly shame ful when one examines some of the weapons (e.g., a fin gernail file, a Boy Scout knife) that are being used as an excuse to banish already troubled youngsters from school. These are youth in the right diamond at the wrong time. On the positive side of this example are some enlightened school systems, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Middle School (Farner, 1996), that have developed alternative school discipline strategies directed at using these issues as op portunities for educating such youth. Being caught in the wrong diamond may be more than an issue of timing. It can also mean that the group norms are negative ones. This is often the case in residential care pro grams and in special education classrooms, because the majority of the youth who make up those diamonds oper ate from a troubled or negative perspective. A primary challenge for all adults who work with these youth is to counteract and /or change the negative behavior expecta tions of the youth group. The article mentioned in the in troduction of this work focused on the EQUIP Program, in which strategies are employed to change negative group norms to more positive expectations. The EQUIP Program draws upon the positive peer culture (PPC) model origi nated by Vorrath and Brendtro (1985) . This method was an offspring of the original peer group intervention model developed in the 1950s at Highfields and Essex Fields, New Jersey. Known as guided group interaction (GGI), this model suggested that the influence of the adolescent peer group could be harnessed in a positive manner and that the behavior of its members could be dramatically changed by a guided small group process. Using regular small group meetings with a highly structured approach to developing norms that encouraged positive behavior, this method pressed the peer group to become the prime positive motivational factor in each youth's residential ex perience. Another of my mentors, and a veteran of some of the Highfields experiment, is Dr. Saul Pilnick, who brought the GGI program to YDC Loysville not long after Polsky'S

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visit. The net result of these consultations was the devel opment of a treatment model in that facility, the GGI cul ture, which operated quite spectacularly for several years. Basically, we used our knowledge of the diamond in con junction with the structured group process of GGI to assist youth in developing compliant behavior and then begin ning to examine and alter the behavior and the thinking that brought them to that placement. Using this process to its optimal potential required a regular examination of the diamond configuration in each of the living units. The daily GGI group sessions were often enhanced because the facilitator understood what was occurring in the peer group when its members were outside the formal group setting. This allowed staff members to stay a step ahead of the youth group and to confront the "pseudo-compliance" that all youth presented at some time in the process. This confrontation was known as a "role bust" and was often a dramatic experience for the individual and the group. As a rule, a youth couldn't leave the program until this role bust occurred. Figure 2 provides a more complex look at the diamond as a tool that can be used by staff members to evaluate the status and general behavior pattern of group members. I have added a positive/negative meridian from the top of the diamond to its bottom. When using the diamond to identify the respective roles of individuals, adults can make a positive or negative evaluation with regard to how the person is presently operating. The diamond thus may have positive and /or negative leaders, positive and/or negative lieutenants, and so forth. In addition, the degree of positivity or negativity can be indicated by how close to the meridian the individual is. The farther from the meridian, the more positive or more negative the evalua tion. This particular illustration might be a useful tool for residential-care staff and teachers as they plan interven tion strategies for youth. An example of its use can be seen in planning for a recre ational basketball game in which staff members have the opportunity to divide the youth group into two teams. When the rosters are created, the opportunity to strategi cally place individual youth on a team can be based on where he or she is in the diamond and what identified out come goals have been established for him or her. On the other hand, the roster decisions may simply be related to the development of a more positive normative structure in the diamond. For either purpose, staff members may im pose captain roles for the two teams and appoint group members to those roles according to diamond assessments (e.g., choosing a youth who is a borderline positive status seeker as the team captain for a team on which positive leaders are also placed to reinforce the positive develop ment norms). Assuming that this strategy results in posi-

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movement toward positive norms negative norms

F I G U R E 2. Determ i n i n g inte rvention strategies for posi tive g ro u p a n d i n d ivi d u a l d eve l o p m e n t t h ro u g h P o l s ky's diamond.

tive behavior, staff members have the opportunity to rein force that outcome. When one of these behavioral mo ments occurs-that is, a youth is seen doing something right-we can reinforce the positive. Finally, the diamond has obvious use in general organiza tional planning. Staff of a school or residential care pro gram can determine its internal positive/negative status and plan or design programs accordingly. Such planning might be developed through intake screening or classroom placement that takes into account the impact a new stu dent may or may not have when placed within a particu lar group.

Summary
The use of Polsky's diamond in our understanding of and work with youth can be a wonderful tool. A clear, current assessment of a youth group provided by the diamond al lows caretakers and teachers to create and/ or to take ad vantage of day-to-day social learning opportunities that can have significant developmental impacts. When our knowledge of the hierarchy and the dynamics of the dia mond are engaged, we become social "prospectors," work ing in the diamond mine in search of those rare gems that, when found, can be cleaned and polished into sparkling moments of practice.
(continued on p. 1 80)

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controls to augment their insufficient internal controls is the necessary action. We must also invite them into the social arena so they can develop social skills and form productive relationships. We should not allow them to be victimized by known an tagonists or other individuals who are particularly intoler ant. These are "relationship-wary" kids. We can promise to help keep them safe and to provide appropriate student or adult guides to help them navigate the social situations they find so confusing-if they promise to let us know when they feel overwhelmed.

Thomas T ate, MS, is director of Ohio programs for Starr Com monwealth. He was a peer group therapist and trainer in Min nesota and has held leadership positions in programs in Ohio and Virginia since 1981. He can be contacted at: Starr Common wealth, 15145 Lincoln Highway, Van Wert, OH 45891. Wil liam Wasmund was a nationally prominent researcher and consultant in the development of positive peer culture treatment methodology. He was on the administrative staff of Starr Com monwealth in Albion, Michigan, when he died in 1997.
REFERENCES
Brarmon, J. M., Brannon, M. E., Craig, J., & Martray, C. (1989). Applied behav ioral typologies: Implications for the residential treahnent and community reintegration of juvenile offenders. Journal of Offe:nder Counseling, Services and Rehabilitation, 14(2), 77-87. Brendtro, L. K., & Ness, A (1995). Fixing flaws or building strengths? Reclaim ing Children and Youth: Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 4(2) 2-7. Burger, J. V. (1995). Planting seeds of hate or hope. Reclaiming Children and Youth: Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 4(2), 51. Erickson, M. T. (1978). Child psychopathology: Assessme:nt, etiology, and treatment. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Gold, M., & Osgood, D. W. (1992) . Personality and peer influence in juvenile corrections. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Merton, R. K. (1957). Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press. Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia. Vorrath, H. H., & Brendtro, L. K. (1985) Positive peer culture. New York: Aldine. Wilker, K. (1992). Der Lindenhof (S. Lhotzky, Trans.). Sioux Falls, SD: Augustana College. (Original work published 1920) Wineman, D. (1972). The life-space interview. In J. K. Whitaker & A E. Triesch man (Eds.), Children away from home (pp. 236--266). Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.

S u m m a ry
Antisocial behavior and problem-solving skills are related. Personality characteristics, peer social status, and group roles are also related. By considering specific problem solving skills (or deficiencies) and personality strengths and weaknesses, we may make better diagnoses about specific interpersonal dysfunctions and prescribe more ef fective, individualized interventions. Reframing weakness as strength enables us to enlist these students as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

("Working in a Diamond Mine, " continued from p. 1 73)

Joseph Mullen, MSW, is director of correctional training at the

Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research at Shippens burg University. He can be reached at: Shippensburg Univer sity, 1871 Old Main Drive, Shippensburg, PA 17257.
REFERENCES
American Psychological Commission on Youth Violence. (1993). Report on youth violence. Washington, DC: Author. Butkowski, W. M., Sippola, L. K., & Biovin, M. (1995) . Friendship protects at risk children from victimization by peers. In J. M. Price (Chair), The role of friend

ship in childre:n's developmental risk and resilience: A developmental psychopatho logical perspective. Symposium conducted for the Society for Research in
Child Development, Indianapolis, IN. Dodge, K. A (1986). A social information processing model of social compe tence in children. In M. Perlmutter (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psy chology (pp. 77-126). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Farner, C. D. (1996). Proactive alternatives to school suspension. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 5(1), 47-51 . Gibbs, J . , Potter, B . , Goldstein, A, & Brendtro, L. (1996). From harrassment to helping with antisocial youth: The EQUIP Program. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 5(1), 40-46. Gibbs, N. R. (1994). Murder in miniature. Time, 144(12), 54-59. Hodges, E., Alone, M. J., & Perry, D. (1995). Behavioral risk and social risk as in teracting determinants of victimization in the peer group. Unpublished manu script. Olweus, D. (1978). Aggression in schools: Bullies and whipping boys. Washington, DC: Hemisphere. Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Cam bridge, MA: Blackwell. Perry, D. G., Kusel, S. J., & Perry, L. C. (1988). Victims of peer aggression. De velopmental Psychology, 24, 807-814. Polsky, H. (1962). Cottage six: The social systems of delinquent boys in residential treatment. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Smith, P. K., & Sharp, S. (1994) . School bullying: Insight and perspectives. Danbury, CT: Routledge. Vorrath, H., & Brendtro, L. (1985). Positive peer culture (2nd ed.). New York: Al dine de Gruyter.

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