Adolescent Girls at Risk

The personal and intimate stories of three at-risk female students are told in the form of written portraits. Each portrait was carefully painted with the aesthetic quality of an artist along with the detailed rigor of scientific data analysis. Each portrayal reveals the internal and external struggles that these young women face today in our society. Numerous hours were spent with these girls, their parents, teachers, counselors, and friends in order to find out what caused these seemingly compliant students to turn into chronically truant, drug abused, sexually active, and delinquent youths. Their compelling stories tell about the victimization and betrayal by their families, schools, and society. These portrayals challenge the reader to come to "know" each girl with compassion and understanding in order to find ways to provide care and support for others like them within one's own community.