Summary.Questionnaires completed by 367 young people between 14 and 20 in the industrial North, indicated the range and nature of the needs which they thought should be met by home, school, club and work, respectively, and the needs which they thought were, in fact, met. Two‐hundred‐and‐fifty subjects were members of mixed youth clubs (fifty were at work, 200 at school). Their responses on a sentence‐completion test were compared with the responses of fifty non‐club members who were at work and sixty‐seven who were at school.Boys and girls, club members and non‐members, young workers and those still at school, all demanded predominantly ‘ expressive ’ functions of their homes: feeling at ease, wanted, loved and secure. Approximately a quarter of their demand referred to ‘ instrumental’ functions: character training, instruction in domestic and other skills, preparation for getting ahead in the world. Their demands were broadly satisfied, although some 10 per cent, of club‐members' statements referred to frustrations and restrictions at home. Less than 2 per cent, of non‐club members' statements about home were negative; and it seems possible that club members may often come from comparatively restrictive homes.The club was expected to provide mainly ‘expressive’ satisfactions, and did so. Only 6 per cent, of members' statements referred to frustrations. Both work and school were expected to be almost equally ‘ expressive ’ and ‘ instrumental.’ The instrumentality of work was seen mainly in terms of character/independence training. Sohool massively failed to fulfill the expressive functions expected of it—particularly the grammar school. But club members were more frustrated by school than non‐club members; and again, it seemed that the club might be an important source of ‘ expressive ’ satisfactions denied elsewhere. The predominantly negative self‐concepts of some grammar‐school sixth‐formers, who were independently investigated, were in line with the need‐frustr