Complicated Lives: Girls, Parents, Drugs, and Juvenile Justice

Vera Lopez

Published by Rutgers University Press 2017

Complicated Lives

Girls, Parents, Drugs, and Juvenile Justice

Vera Lopez

In the series Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813586571

Overview
Contents

About this book

Winner of the 2019 Intersectional Book Award from the American Society of Criminology's Division on Women & Crime

Complicated Lives focuses on the lives of sixty-five drug-using girls in the juvenile justice system (living in group homes, a residential treatment center, and a youth correctional facility) who grew up in families characterized by parental drug use, violence, and child maltreatment. Vera Lopez situates girls’ relationships with parents who fail to live up to idealized parenting norms and examines how these relationships change over time, and ultimately contribute to the girls’ future drug use and involvement in the justice system.

While Lopez’s subjects express concerns and doubt in their chances for success, Lopez provides an optimistic prescription for reform and improvement of the lives of these young women and presents a number of suggestions ranging from enhanced cultural competency training for all juvenile justice professionals to developing stronger collaborations between youth and adult serving systems and agencies.

Author / Editor information

VERA LOPEZ is an associate professor of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University in Tempe. She is the coeditor of Adolescent Girls’ Sexualities and the Media.

Reviews

"Delinquency theory and research has largely ignored criminalized girls and girls of color. For this reason, Complicated Lives fills a huge void. A must read for those who care about girlhood, with all its complexities and challenges, in America."

— Meda Chesney-Lind, co-author of The Female Offender: Girls, Women, and Crime

"Complicated Lives provides the groundwork for evidence-based interventions for a population of teenage girls whose needs are often not being met effectively because of funders’ failure to hear the voices of those most affected by adverse conditions in the home, community, and institutional settings. The book deals with some of the most complicated societal issues. Lopez appreciates the larger picture and leads us in a positive direction toward overcoming the myriad of counterproductive forces that impede successful outcomes."

— Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

"Complicated Lives is carefully constructed, using qualitative data and an intersectional lens. Engaging and clear."

— Society and Gender

"Excellent and flawlessly written, Complicated Lives is a crucial piece of work. Lopez brilliantly addresses the complex intersectional and myriad of challenges surrounding these girls, their parents, and the juvenile 'justice' system."

— Joanne Belknap, author of The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Growing Up in a “Dysfunctional” Family Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
2. Mothers’ Little Helpers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
3. Daddy’s Little Girl: Feeling Rejected, Abandoned, and Unloved Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
4. Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
5. Doing Drugs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
6. Parents’ Attempts to Intervene on Behalf of Drug-Using Daughters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
7. Property of the State: Locked Up, Locked Out, and in Need of Treatment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
8. Moving beyond the Individual toward Programmatic, Systemic, and Policy Solutions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
Appendix A. Doing Research with System-Involved Girls Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Appendix B. Study Participants Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
About the Author Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Illustrations
- Other: 2 figures, 3 tables
Keywords: drugs; girls; drug use; drug abuse; family; correctional facility; youth correctional facility; juvie; juvenile delinquent; drug addict; drug addiction; violence; child abuse; heroin; meth; crack; cocaine; amphetamines; methamphetamines; juvenile justice; group home

eBook

Published: June 12, 2017
ISBN: 9780813586571