Managing to Make It

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighborhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. Sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in Managing to Make It. This unique study—the first in the MacArthur Foundation Studies on Successful Adolescent Development series—focuses on how and why youth are able to overcome social disadvantages.
Based on nearly 500 interviews and case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, Managing to Make It lays out in detail the creative means parents use to manage risks and opportunities in their communities. More importantly, it also depicts the strategies parents develop to steer their children away from risk and toward resources that foster positive development and lead to success.

"Indispensible to anyone concerned about breaking the cycle of poverty and helplessness among at-risk adolescents, this book has a readable, graphic style easily grasped by those unfamiliar with statistical techniques." —Library Journal

Frank F. Furstenberg is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books, most recently Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage Childbearing. 

Frank F. Furstenberg,Jr. is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Thomas D. Cook is the professor of sociology, psychology, education, and policy research at Northwestern University.

Jacquelynne Eccles is a professor of education and psychology at the University of Michigan.

Glen H. Elder, Jr. is the Odum Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Arnold Sameroff is professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

Glen H. Elder Jr. is the Howard W. Odum Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and research professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.