Description
Book SynopsisComplicated Lives focuses on the lives of sixty-five drug-using girls in the juvenile justice system who grew up in families characterized by parental drug use, violence, and child maltreatment. Vera Lopez’s work examines how these relationships with their parents contribute to the girls’ future drug use and involvement in the justice system.
Trade Review"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 *
"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 is carefully constructed, using qualitative data and an intersectional lens. Engaging and clear." * Society and Gender *
"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 *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 Growing Up in a “Dysfunctional” Family
2 Mothers’ Little Helpers
3 Daddy’s Little Girl: Feeling Rejected, Abandoned, and Unloved
4 Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
5 Doing Drugs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
6 Parents’ Attempts to Intervene on Behalf of Drug-Using Daughters
7 Property of the State: Locked Up, Locked Out, and in Need of Treatment
8 Moving beyond the Individual toward Programmatic, Systemic, and Policy Solutions
Appendices
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
