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The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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<strong>The</strong> Hispanic youth and the Native American youth were split <strong>in</strong> their views<br />

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about college. Some did not know for sure about college or did not want to go. <strong>The</strong> other<br />

half had college <strong>in</strong> their plans and specific career goals. <strong>The</strong> careers that the youth have<br />

selected seemed pretty much <strong>in</strong> align with what they could atta<strong>in</strong>. <strong>The</strong> youth that knew<br />

they did not want to go to college also had specific jobs <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d. <strong>The</strong>se jobs fit the<br />

capabilities <strong>of</strong> the youth quite well. Jobs such as carpenter, Navy, boxer, and auto body<br />

repair were among the goals <strong>of</strong> these youth.<br />

Perceptions <strong>of</strong> Blame<br />

<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> youth <strong>in</strong> the self reports, as seen <strong>in</strong> Tables 7 and 8, blamed<br />

themselves for gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> trouble with the law (76 percent <strong>of</strong> the whites, 68 percent <strong>of</strong> the<br />

blacks). More blacks felt they were not to blame (25 percent) compared to the whites (14<br />

percent). <strong>The</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> the youth neither agreed or disagreed with the statement (9 percent<br />

<strong>of</strong> the whites, 8 percent <strong>of</strong> the blacks).<br />

In the <strong>in</strong>terviews the question, “Who is to blame if you can’t get what you want”<br />

is asked. This question is try<strong>in</strong>g to f<strong>in</strong>d out if the youth perceive failures or lack <strong>of</strong><br />

achievements as be<strong>in</strong>g their fault or someone elses. All <strong>of</strong> the youth unanimously blame<br />

themselves. Even when probed further, the youth did not blame society, parents, anyone<br />

or anyth<strong>in</strong>g other than themselves for any misfortunate happen<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> their lives.<br />

Summary

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