Citation

Aguilar JP, Jackson AK. Affilia 2009; 24(4): 369-381.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886109909344058

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article seeks to build on prior research and knowledge about young female drug sellers’ social power by answering the following research question: What are the behavioral manifestations of young female drug sellers’ social power as these young women move through their native environments and social institutions? How do these behavioral manifestations influence their perception of the professionals with whom these young women interact in treatment and alternative education programs? The results indicate that young women develop requisite skills for surviving on the streets of their neighborhoods and that some bring these skills into the social institutions they enter for education or treatment. Moreover, the transfer of street-based skills into social institutions influences how young women respond to staff in these social institutions.