Center for Youth Development and Research, University of Minnesota

In October 1973, the Eli Lilly Endowment approved a grant to the University of Minnesota's Center for Youth Development and Research to undertake a study on the "needs, concerns, and aspirations" of adolescent girls. Although the Lilly Endowment had previously financed studies of male youth organizations, Project Girl proved their first venture into determining the conditions of female youth groups. Moreover, instead of focusing exclusively on organizationally "affiliated" girls, Project Girl actively sought a diverse sampling: affiliated girls, non-affiliated girls, and adjudicated delinquent girls. The research project was led by Dr. Gisela Konopka of the University of Minnesota, who had earlier authored a respected study on delinquent girls ( The Adolescent Girl in Conflict . Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1966.)

The project used a number of different research techniques. The majority of the information was acquired through open-ended individual interviews with adolescent girls. During these interviews, the girls were also asked to donate any personal poetic or fictional writings. These writings were compared to other fictional literature written for adolescent girls. Besides individual interviews, there were group sessions and reviews of professional writings. At the midway point of the study in September, 1974, a conference was held in Minneapolis to discuss the preliminary findings with the research assistants who conducted the individual interviews. At the conference, seven youth organizations (Camp Fire Girls, Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts, 4-H, American Red Cross, YWCA, and Big Sisters) participated in reviewing the preliminary conclusions.

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