Street addict values: a factor analytic study.

Abstract

Summary This study was designed to describe the values of the street addict subculture. It was hypothesized that the values would be oriented around the three major components of the street addict role: the “cool cat” pattern, the importance of conning behavior, and the addict's antisociety viewpoint. A completed 92-item test protocol was obtained for a total of 516 narcotic addicts. The sample consists of 73 percent males and 27 percent females—63 percent black, 30 percent white, and 7 percent other. A series of principal component analyses with varimax rotations yielded a final six-factor structure composed of 47 items. The results indicated that a value structure, centered on the street addict role concept, did seem to exist. This value structure was also found to be similar in many ways to value systems of both delinquent subcultures and black lower-class ghetto dwellers. Thus, the question remains whether the value system is unique to street addicts or is merely reflective of a more general ghetto li...