Escaping Poverty and Securing Middle Class Status: How Race and Socioeconomic Status Shape Mobility Prospects for African Americans During the Transition to Adulthood

This article draws on extant research from the disciplines of psychology, sociology, and economics to identify linkages between individual, family, community, and structural factors related to social mobility for African Americans during the transition to adulthood. It considers how race and class together affect opportunities for social mobility through where African Americans live, whom they associate with, and how they are impacted by racial and class-related stigma. Of particular interest is social mobility as accomplished through academic achievement, educational attainment, employment, economic independence, and homeownership. Research on five issues is reviewed and discussed: (a) the unique vulnerabilities of newly upwardly mobile African Americans, (b) wealth as a source of inequality, (c) racism and discrimination, (d) the stigma associated with lower-class status, and (e) social and cultural capital. The article concludes with a summary and directions for future research.

Cecily R. HardawayEmail:

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Cecily R. Hardaway   is a graduate student in developmental psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on understanding the effects of poverty and economic hardship on family processes, child and adolescent development, and the transition to adulthood. Vonnie C. McLoyd   is Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is interested in the impact of economic disadvantage, work-related transitions, and parental job characteristics on family life and child development, the mediators and moderators of these impacts, and the implications of research on these issues for both practice and policy.