BOOK REVIEWS 233

job-seeking does appear to tail off with time, and Banks and Ullah argue that this is a result of increasing discouragement and pessimism, rather than young people not wanting a job. The long-term young unemployed have experienced so many failures in their job-seeking that, after a time, not applying may be the only way of preserving self-respect.

Those who work with young people, especially young people with emotional or behavioural problems, will be well aware that a job can mean the difference between dependence on parents and/or the state, and independence. What is not so well understood is the process by which, in the absence of employment, some young people manage to achieve a degree of autonomy and to develop a sense of personal identity, while others are less successful. Family dynamics are likely to be of primary importance here, but individual differences undoubtedly play an important part. The penultimate chapter of this book, “Good and Poor Copers”, sheds some light on how such differences as job-seeking strategy and time management might influence the psychological response to unemployment. Evidence is also provided about which aspects of social support are likely to be helpful to the young unemployed and which are not.

Banks and Ullah succeed in putting across a great deal of statistical information in a clear and succinct way, the reader being helped by over 30 tables and good concluding sections to the main chapters. Although primarily a book by researchers for researchers, the conclusions drawn are likely to be of general interest and the findings deserve to be publicized more widely. Youth Unemployment in the 1980’s is expensive for such a small volume, but if you cannot get hold of a copy then have a look at recent articles by the authors in this journal and elsewhere.

Andrew Donovan

D.H.S.S. Reports to Courts: Practice GuidanceforSocial Workers H.M.S.O. 1987. E6.10.

Schools, Disruptive Behaviour and Delinquency: A Review of Research. John Graham. Home Office Research Study 96, H.M.S.O. 1988. E5.30.

National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders: Grave Crimes . . . Grave Doubts. NACRO, 1988. Ez.50, from 169 Clapham Road, London SW9 oPU.

These three pamphlets all deserve attention from readers of this Journal, and draw attention to this “other” literature lying somewhere between the book and the journal article, which often gets overlooked. In the first mentioned Jim Richards, Senior Development Officer of the London Boroughs Children’s Regional Planning Committee, has produced an excellent guide for those writing reports on children and young people in criminal, care and matrimonial proceedings. While written for a social work audience other professions would find his step-by-step approach equally valuable. A first section considers issues relevant to ail reports, stressing the

234 BOOK REVIEWS

importance of separating fact and opinion, using language relevant to the user, and considering the responsibilities that extend beyond the report itself. Content and style are considered, with examples, and the importance of monitoring emphasized. The remaining sections consider the authority in the different proceedings to produce reports, and contain useful guides to court powers and language. Each section is introduced with a summary, and there is a good bibliography.

John Graham’s 63-page paper provides a detailed re-assessment of the literature on the link between school, disruptive behaviour and delinquency, separating these out into links between schools and delinquency, disruptive behaviour in schools and delinquency, school characteristics and disruptive behaviour, and the responses to disruptive behaviour. He considers over I 50 pieces of research, often describing their strengths and limitations. His conclusion is that, while it has not been shown that schools have a direct influence in delinquency, they do seem to have an influence on intervening variables which themselves seem to be linked to delinquency, such as behaviour, attainment and truancy. There is a link, for example, between school failure and delinquency, while truancy and disruptive behaviour are possibly linked to school failure. His survey of responses to disruptive behaviour is pessimistic about past attempts, but suggests that multidisciplinary school support teams which support a number of schools may offer more success.

The final pamphlet is the report of a working group set up by NACRO to consider issues arising from the placement of children and young people convicted of grave crimes. The use of section 53(1) and (2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 has dramatically increased in recent years, and this report brought together much concern previously voiced in an unfocused manner. This small group of young people tend to make up a Iarge part of the clientele of Youth Treatment Centres and secure care facilities.

Their situation has been somewhat anomalous, bypassed by other reforms and sitting astride the penal and welfare legislation.

The report found that those subject to section 53 were disproportionately black, and were subject to significant discretion and variation between courts and regions; often inappropriately placed, receiving inadequate education and training, and cared for by professionals who were often unsure about their own authority and responsibility. It makes a series of recommendations for legislative change and practice.

Denis Jones

Diagnostic issues in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa Garner, D. M. and Garfinkel, P. E. (eds). New York: BrunnerlMazel, 1988.

Diagnostic issues in Anorexia nelvosa and Bulimia Netvosa, edited by David Garner and Paul Garfinkel, is an ambitious and timely undertaking. Disagreements among researchers in the area of eating disorders regarding the definitions and boundaries of diagnoses have sparked confusion and controversy. This volume is a collaborative effort by several well-respected authorities to address a few of the primary diagnostic concerns regarding anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.