Overcoming the Odds? Adolescent Development in the Context of Urban Poverty

Authors

Ana Mari Cauce
Angela Stewart
Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Utah State UniversityFollow
Bryan Cochran
Joshua Ginzler

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Resilience and Vulnerability: Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Publication Date

2003

First Page

343

Last Page

463

Abstract

Adolescence, a time of rapid biological, emotional, and social changes, brings with it a heightened developmental risk (McCord, 1997). This risk may be highest for adolescents growing up in poverty within our country's inner cities. In addition to the normative stress of adolescence, poor inner-city youth face multiple stressors and adversities including crowded housing, poor-quality schools, inadequate nutrition, and the presence of violence and drugs in their neighborhoods (Sampson, Morenoff, & Earls, 1999). These factors, in turn, have been linked to a host of negative outcomes (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Gorman-Smith & Tolan, this volume). Nonetheless, some inner-city youth survive these circumstances, overcoming adversity to become productive members of society. This chapter will highlight research that helps us understand the dynamic process of risk and resilience during this difficult transition in an even more difficult context.

Comments

Originally published by Cambridge University Press. Limited preview available through remote link.

Recommended Citation

Cauce, A.M., Stewart, A., Domenech Rodríguez, M., Cochran, B., & Ginzler, J. (2003). Overcoming the odds: Adolescent development in the context of urban poverty. In S.S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 343-463). New York: Cambridge University Press.