It is stated that the concept of 'youth' is absent in most primitive societies, at least as a category of 10-22 yr olds who present a special S-cul problem or subgroup agglomerate. Children & youngsters in Western European societies first obtained special attention during the industr revolution. The early forms of private European youthwork took root at that time & can be diff'iated from the later outgrowths of societal movements. A survey & analysis of the development of public youthwork in the Netherlands sponsored by gov & municipality re its org'al setup & the nature of its activities indicates: (1) a solid loss of members of youth org's since 1961, (2) the after-effects of an ambivalent 'youth movement' ideology which cut young people off from society, (3) still widespread naive stereotyping of youth among leaders, officials, & authorities, (4) still sparse & generally weak contacts on all levels with outside agencies or res & information, (5) the absence of an internal informational structure to counteract the above problems-this situation is painfully reflected in the overall quality of youthwork periodicals; (6) no agreement or historical perspective about the nature of the work to be done; (7) strong positions held in the framework of a bur'tic system by senior authorities or officials with vested interests in the older branches of work. Public fictional views of youth & the youth concept are being commercially exploited more & serve to bolster false personality identities re age-groupings; this hinders the emancipation of young people & prevents them from being soc'ly engaged in a more conscious, critical way. Their encounter with the instit's of their society is often by necessity & is dysfunctional due to a lack of societal power. This power can also be withheld from them by group consensus of a repressive nature which is associated with rigid beliefs about their soc role as grownups (erwachsenen). Modified AA.
