Silverlake Experiment

Details of the Project

The Silverlake Experiment had three objectives:

• 1.
  Determine the capacity of a particular theory of delinquency to explain delinquent behavior and suggest effective measures for intervention.
• 2.
  Learn about the operational and organizational problems of a delinquency reduction effort based on that theory.
• 3.
  Study the problems with a field experimental model (FEM) as a knowledge-generating device.

Experimental and control subjects were selected randomly from a common population of offenders in Los Angeles County. Experimentals were assigned to the new community program (Silverlake), controls were assigned to the traditional program of the California Boys Republic. Only repeat offenders aged 15 to 17 were accepted into Silverlake. Offense histories varied, with the only exclusions being serious sex offenders, narcotics addicts, and seriously retarded or psychotic boys. No more than 20 boys were in the experiment at any given time with an average stay of six months, with the premise that too many would make it difficult to establish a unified and cohesive system. Unlike the boys in the Provo Experiment, the Silverlake boys were ethnically mixed, with 75 percent white, 10 percent African American, and 10 percent Hispanic.

The experiment focused on three main program components: (1) daily group meetings, (2) attendance at school, and (3) limited work and tutorial activities. Group meetings were held five times a week and were the major component of the experiment. Guided group meetings became the primary mechanism through which attempts at collaboration and problem solving were implemented. Guided group interaction attempted to make the group both the target and the medium of change. This method emphasized the development of the group as a means of producing change for its members. The role of the adult group leaders was extremely important. It was their job to become functional rather than act as an authoritarian member of the group. The fundamental objectives of the groups were to find and document the problems faced by group members, to search for and find sufficient alternatives, and to provide group support and personal rewards for seeking alternatives.

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