The path adolescents take from childhood to adulthood is a product of social, economic, political, and technological forces. These forces may facilitate youth's preparation to become healthy adults, or they may leave youth unprepared for adulthood. Knowledgeable projections are vital in shaping the agenda for research; for alerting educators, policy makers, and practitioners to new issues; and for formulating thoughtful responses to emerging dilemmas. This book focuses upon the future of adolescence in postindustrial societies. The authors identify some ominous societal changes that will affect youth: unstable job markets, competition for public resources due to an aging population, and widening income gaps between 'information workers' and low-skill workers. But they also observe opportunities created by information technology, innovations in health service delivery and criminal-justice rehabilitation, and the resourcefulness of a new generation. This volume examines these and other macro-structural changes that will impact adolescents' lives and their futures as adults.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in the human life span. Its breathtaking pace of growth and change is second only to that of infancy. Over the last two decades, the research base in the field of adolescence has had its own growth spurt. New studies have provided fresh insights while theoretical assumptions have changed and matured. This summary of an important 1998 workshop reviews key findings and addresses the most pressing research challenges.

The life stage of adolescence now occurs in most corners of the world, but it takes different forms in different regions. Peers, with such a central role in Western adolescence, play a comparatively minor role in the lives of Arabic and South Asian adolescents. Emotional turmoil and individuation from family occur in some societies but not others. Adolescent sexual revolutions are sweeping through Japan and Latin America. In this 2002 book, scholars from eight regions of the world describe the distinct nature of adolescence in their regions. They draw on research to address standard topics regarding this age - family and peer relationships, schooling, preparation for work, physical and mental health - and show how these have a different cast across societies. As a whole, the book depicts how rapid global change is dramatically altering the experience of the adolescent transition, creating opportunities and challenges for adolescents, parents, teachers, and concerned others.

The Adolescent Experience places the college student at the very heart of the book. The authors engage in a dialogue with the reader that is warm, caring, and often humorous as they write and share material about this time of life. The authors emphasize the role that development and society play in the lives of young people. The book has a solid research basis with a historical and multicultural focus. But most important, the book is practical and applied with the strongest prevention/health promotion material available in any basic undergraduate adolescent psychology text currently on the market. Key Features * Focuses on health promotion and illness prevention * Provides not only a U.S. but also a much needed Canadian perspective to this life stage * Involves students as participants in a long-standing inquiry into the nature of adolescence as they are introduced to the latest research in the field * Provides students with the latest practical information in subject areas like sexuality, drugs and alcohol, suicide and depression, eating disorders, crime, delinquency, and violent behavior * List server links student and/or instructor to authors * Explores the uniqueness of North America's multi-culturalism * Illustrates important concepts using literature and social history to make them tangible to students

This report constitutes one of the first activities of the Forum on Adolescence, a cross-cutting activity of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies. Established under the auspices of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, the forum's overaching mission is to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate scientific research on critical national issues that relate to youth and their families, as well as to disseminate research and its policy and programmatic implications. The goals of the forum are to: (1) review and establish the science base on adolescent health and development and make efforts to foster this development; (2) identify new directions and support for research in this area, approaching research as a resource to be developed cumulatively over time; (3) showcase new research, programs, and policies that have demonstrated promise in improving the health and well-being of adolescents; (4) convene and foster collaborations among individuals who represent diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, with a view to enhancing the quality of leadership in this area; and (5) disseminate research on adolescence and its policy implications to a wide array of audiences, from the scientific community to the lay public.

The Carnegie Corporation's Council on Adolescent Development builds on the work of many organizations and individuals to stimulate sustained public attention to the risks and opportunities of adolescence, and generates public and private support for measures that facilitate the critical transition to adulthood. This document explores some of the risks of adolescence--which encompasses ages 11 and 12 in early adolescence and 17 and 18 in late adolescence. The report also gives recommendations for meeting the essential requirements of healthy adolescent development and adapting pivotal institutions to foster healthy adolescence. Following an executive summary, the report presents the following chapters. (1) "Early Adolescence: The Great Transition"; (2) "Growing Up in Early Adolescence: An Emerging View"; (3) "Old Biology in New Circumstances: The Changing Adolescent Experience"; (4) "Reducing Risks, Enhancing Opportunities: Essential Requirements for Healthy Development"; (5) "Reengaging Families with Their Adolescent Children"; (6) "Educating Young Adolescents for a Changing World"; (7) "Promoting the Health of Adolescents"; (8) "Strengthening Communities with Adolescents"; and (9) "Redirecting the Pervasive Power of Media." The report concludes with an epilogue on sustaining the perspectives of the Council of Adolescent Development. Five appendices include task force, working, group, and advisory board members; meetings and workshops; and an index of programs cited in the report. (HTH)