Data were collected in 1996 from social workers who were currently working with youth in various agency settings, including outreach youth work teams, integrative teams, children and youth centers, and school social work teams. One hundred sixty-three social workers completed and returned the self-administered questionnaires. The questions covered perceptions of the behavior, physical appearance, social lives, moral values, and personal competence of marginal youth. Findings indicated that social workers held negative stereotypes of marginal youth. More than three-fourths (77.8 percent) perceived the social lives of the marginal youth as negative and unacceptable; none of them held positive perceptions. Nearly 7 in 10 (69.3 percent) had negative perceptions of the youths' behavior; 67.1 percent had negative perceptions of the youths' moral values; 79.7 percent believed that the youth were unable to cope with schooling demands; and 48.1 percent had negative opinions about the youths' appearance. Stereotyping can lead to stigmatization. These social workers attitudes are similar in many ways to the media coverage of youth problems; this coverage has the characteristics of a moral panic. The attitudes of these helping professionals could contribute to further extending the power of the government in policing the marginal and change the helping process into only a controlling and disciplining exercise targeted against youth who are labeled as marginal. Table, photograph, illustrations, and 19 references