This book was first published in 1978. The parents about whom the authors have written this book live in the poorest areas of a large city. They are widely dispersed; they do not know one another. There are certain features about their lives that bind them together and make them speak as if they had exchanged their views. Many come from large families and know the sorrows of premature death, disablement, stillbirth and unwanted pregnancy. This account of fifty-six families is an attempt to explore the interrelationship between the parents' circumstances and the difficulties encountered by their children.

Harriett Wilson, G.W. Herbert

Part 1: Data 1. The problem defined 2. The families and the environment 3. The control groups and the random sample 4. The boys at school 5. The Play-groups 6. Delinquency Part 2: Conversations With Parents 7. Shared experience and the socialization of children 8. The world of the child 9. Achievement, self-reliance and responsibility 10. Tolerance and discipline Part 3: Interpretaion 11. Child-centredness 12. The poverty syndrome and child development