Profiles of selected Knox County families, patterns of family behavior, belief and value systems, and participation in community action programs were studied. A purposive sample of 131 intact families was studied to discover features of the family life styles of 3 categorical types: 39 participating poor (PP) families, 56 non-participating poor (NP) families, and 36 with standard incomes. The research design contrasted with 2 poor groups and compared them with the 36 above poor (AP) families. Two sets of questionnaires were administered, a year apart, to mothers in their homes and to 6th grade sons in the schools. It was found that both PP and NP groups were fatalistic because of their espousal of fundamentalistic and sectarian religious views; that PP families had longer histories of financial difficulty; that neither group belonged to formal organizations to any measurable extent; that PP families were older, larger, and had more unemployed or underemployed members; that NP were critical of the local Community Action Program; and that NP mothers had higher aspirations for their sons. Major conclusions were that the poor in Knox County need jobs, vocational training, and a much improved plan for community organization. (Author/PS)