Lost Childhoods: Poverty, Trauma, and Violent Crime in the Post-Welfare Era

Description

Lost Childhoods focuses on the life-course histories of thirty young men serving time in the Pennsylvania adult prison system for crimes they committed when they were minors. The narratives of these young men, their friends, and relatives reveal the invisible yet deep-seated connection between the childhood traumas they suffered and the violent criminal behavior they committed during adolescence. By living through domestic violence, poverty, the crack epidemic, and other circumstances, these men were forced to grow up fast all while familial ties that should have sustained them were broken at each turn. The book goes on to connect large-scale social policy decisions and their effects on family dynamics and demonstrates the limits of punitive justice.   Cover Lost Childhoods Title Copyright Contents Dedication Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION 1. PUNISHMENT AND THE WELFARE STATE 2. THE MAKING OF LIFE-COURSE-PERSISTENT OFFENDERS 3. THE END OF CHILDHOOD: PARENTAL DRUG ADDICTION AND VIOLENCE 4. THE WEAKNESS OF STRONG TIES: EXTREME POVERTY AND THE FRACTURE OF CLOSE KINSHIP TIES 5. MASCULINITY AND VIOLENCE: PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE AT HOME AND IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM 6. LOSING CHILDREN CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS Appendix I Appendix II Notes References Index