Pathways to Adulthood for Disconnected Young Men in Low-Income Communities

As the chapters in this volume demonstrate, young, disadvantaged men from urban neighborhoods face a unique set of challenges and constraints as they transition to adulthood. Yet, these challenges are not always contained by place.Research among Latino and White disadvantaged men in nonurban settings highlights the pressures that come along with fatherhood for disadvantaged men. In contrast to popular understandings of absent or disengaged fathers, findings reveal how fatherhood and increasing levels of interdependence during early adulthood can buffer men as they make the difficult transition to adulthood. The innovative field-based research featured in this volume illuminates the contexts, processes, and meanings in life pathways for disadvantaged men as they move from adolescence into adulthood and should help to inform policies and practices directed at minimizing their marginalization from mainstream society.This is the 143rd volume in this series. Its mission is to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in child and adolescent development. Each volume focuses on a specific new direction or research topic and is edited by experts in that field.

1. Theorizing Alternative Pathways Through Adulthood: UnequalSocial Arrangements in the Lives of Young Disadvantaged Men 1Kevin Roy, Nikki JonesIncreased economic inequality has created precarious pathways toadulthood for young disadvantagedmen. This introductory chapterexplains how unequal social arrangements shape transitions toadulthood for young disadvantaged men and highlights thecontributions of each chapter to this important discussion.2. Taking Boys Out of the Hood: Exile as a Parenting Strategyfor African American Male Youth 11Joseph B. Richardson, Jr., Mischelle Van Brakle, Christopher St.VilFor poor African American parents with low levels of socialcapital, the solution to saving the lives of young African Americanmales is moving them out of the context of inner-city poverty. Theauthors explain the origins and implications of exile as aparenting strategy.3. "The Regular Routine": Proactive Policing andAdolescent Development Among Young, Poor Black Men 33Nikki JonesNew targeted policing practices are the latest incursioncontributing to a system that has sent more and more low-incomeyoung men to prisons. The author considers how the entrenchment ofthe criminal justice system in distressed urban neighborhoodsshapes the life space of young men as they transition toadulthood.4. Growing Up as "Man of the House": Adultificationand Transition Into Adulthood for Young Men in EconomicallyDisadvantaged Families 55Kevin Roy, Lauren Messina, Jocelyn Smith, Damian WatersYoung men in economically disadvantaged families often take onadult responsibilities and expectations at early ages. The authorsexplain how young men make sense of these accelerated pressures andillustrate the later-life consequences of adultification as thesemen transition to adulthood.5. Fathers' Accounts of Struggle and Growth in EarlyAdulthood: An Exploratory Study of Disadvantaged Men 73Richard A. Settersten, Jr., Jack K. Day, Doris Cancel-Tirado,Debra Minar DriscollExamining the experiences of disadvantaged Latino and Whitefathers in nonurban settings, the authors show how fatherhood cancreate new struggles and provide opportunities for growth. In somecases, fatherhood can serve as a gateway to adult development forthese disadvantaged men.INDEX 91