Falling Back: Incarceration and Transitions to Adulthood among Urban Youth

by Jamie J. Fader

Winner of the 2016 Michael J. Hindelang Award from the American Society of Criminology (ASC)

Winner of the 2016 Outstanding Book for the Academy of Criminal Justice Science (ACJS)

2014 Scholarly Contribution Award from the Children and Youth Section of the American Sociological Association

Received an Honorable Mention for the American Sociological Association Race, Gender and Class Section's 2014 Distinguished Book Award

Named a 2013  Choice  Outstanding Academic Title

Jamie J. Fader documents the transition to adulthood for a particularly vulnerable young inner-city men of color who have, by the age of eighteen, already been imprisoned. How, she asks, do such precariously situated youth become adult men? What are the sources of change in their lives?

Falling Back is based on over three years of ethnographic research with black and Latino males on the cusp of adulthood and incarcerated at a rural reform school designed to address “criminal thinking errors” among juvenile drug offenders. Fader observed these young men as they transitioned back to their urban Philadelphia neighborhoods, resuming their daily lives and struggling to adopt adult masculine roles. This in-depth ethnographic approach allowed her to portray the complexities of human decision-making as these men strove to “fall back,” or avoid reoffending, and become productive adults. Her work makes a unique contribution to sociological understandings of the transitions to adulthood, urban social inequality, prisoner reentry, and desistance from offending.

Genres: Sociology

278 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2013

Reviews

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Falling Back for a lot of reasons. It’s a sociological study from a UPenn Phd student from like 2005. She recognizes she’s a white woman and that she has friendly/close relationships with many of the young men she is studying which is not typical for those types of studies that suggest you distance yourself from your subjects. She recognizes the importance of providing resources AFTER incarceration and not just focusing on reducing prison sentences. She shows how youth incarceration inhibits development of a lot of social etiquette/“real world” knowledge young people are exposed to as teenagers. She also views crime not as a pattern of individual behaviors that are voluntary but as evidence of lack of resources to underprivileged, predominantly Black/Brown communities. Everyone always says that education and employment are keys to success, but it is obvious that without factors like generational wealth and stable home lives that these young men became desperate by any means to survive and provide for their loved ones. She also debunks the myth/stereotype of absentee Black parents by showing how these young men had similar aspirations of being/becoming excellent fathers. It was pretty repetitive at times which made me bored, but was a very informative read that focused on individual lives without the white savior complex that sometimes happens in these types of studies.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well integrated ethnography with theoretical advancements in several fronts. Top notch research and even better job explaining big picture to readers. One of the better ways I've seen ethnography used to promote theory. This is a must read for any criminologist or sociologist, but anyone who cares about how to improve the lives of those who live in urban areas will benefit. Great for a graduate level class - I think could also work with advanced undergrads so long as they had strong theory background.