ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT: Challenges and Opportunities for Research, Programs, and Policies

Abstract

The basic process of adolescent development involves changing relations between the individual and the multiple levels of the context within which the young person is embedded. Variation in the substance and timing of these relations promotes diversity in adolescence and represents sources of risk or protective factors across this life period. The key risk factors of the contemporary American adolescent period are discussed. Behavioral risks involve drug, alcohol, and substance use and abuse; unsafe sex, teenage pregnancy, and teenage parenting; school underachievement, failure, and dropout; and delinquency, crime, and violence. Poverty among youth exacerbates these risks. The features of youth programs effective in preventing the actualization of risk or in promoting positive adolescent development are discussed, as are the characteristics of public policies that may enhance the life chances of the diverse youth of America and the world.

Exploring Adolescence and Parenthood: A Transitional Life Stage and Abrupt Life Change

“…The concept of adolescent would appear to be shaped by historical and cultural context reflecting theoretical debate linked with chronological age range [7,8], life stage transitions [9][10][11][12][13], emergence [6,[14][15][16][17][18] and contextual influence [6,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…While Hall did not provide a rationale for choosing 24 years as the end point of adolescence, it is assumed this is culturally grounded as a period when the young person left home forging their independence from their parents [6]. Since Hall's work [23], key factors such as genetic, biological, socioeconomic and nutritional status have been shown to influence the onset of puberty and the time period defined as adolescence [6,14,20]. Thus, when adolescence begins and ends is shaped not only by physiological changes depicting the onset of puberty and menarche but also by social and cultural contexts [6,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…Thus understanding adolescence represents a complex process partially defined by a particular age range as well as acknowledging the social and cultural world in which the person exists [6][7][8]14,19,20]. The World Health Organisation [14] echo this complexity of defining adolescence acknowledging that All societies recognise that there is a difference between being a child and becoming an adult. How this transition from childhood to adulthood is defined and recognised differs between cultures and over time.…”

Odnos između intenziteta ispoljavanja depresivnosti i hipohondričnosti sa samoefikasnošću adolescenata

“…Adolescenciju ne treba gledati kao period koga karakterišu dobne granice, već period koji ima svoje psihološke karakteristike, koje čine da se adolescencija razlikuje od svih ostalih životnih perioda [1]. Adolescentni period nosi sa sobom turbulentne, neizvjesne promjene, sasvim nove doživljaje "sebe" tako da ovaj period predstavalja "okidač" za javljanje poremećaja ponašanja i patoloških konativnih faktora (npr.…”

Protocol for a randomized controlled study of Iyengar yoga for youth with irritable bowel syndrome

“…A number of reasons underlie the focus on 14-26 year-olds. First, this group is likely to experience similar developmental challenges, including adjustments in a sense of self, family, schooling, and peers [55]. The primary stressors for most young people of this age-range relate to academic and social performance and increasing levels of autonomy.…”