This book provides an in-depth examination of adolescents’ social development in the context of the family. Grounded in social domain theory, the book draws on the author’s research over the past 25 years Draws from the results of in-depth interviews with more than 700 families Explores adolescent-parent relationships among ethnic majority and minority youth in the United States, as well as research with adolescents in Hong Kong and China Discusses extensive research on disclosure and secrecy during adolescence, parenting, autonomy, and moral development Considers both popular sources such as movies and public surveys, as well as scholarly sources drawn from anthropology, history, sociology, social psychology, and developmental psychology Explores how different strands of development, including autonomy, rights and justice, and society and social convention, become integrated and coordinated in adolescence

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.

The debate on the social impact of information and communication technologies is particularly important for the study of adolescent life, because through their close association with friends and peers, adolescents develop life expectations, school aspirations, world views, and behaviors. This book presents an up-to-date review of the literature on youth sociability, relationship formation, and online communication, examining the way young people use the internet to construct or maintain their inter-personal relationships. Using a social network perspective, the book systematically explores the various effects of internet access and use on adolescents’ involvement in social, leisure and extracurricular activities, evaluating the arguments that suggest the internet is displacing other forms of social ties. The core of the book investigates the motivations for online relationship formation and the use of online communication for relationship maintenance. The final part of the book focuses on the consequences, both positive and negative, of the use of online communication, such as increased social capital and online bullying. Wired Youth is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of adolescent psychology, youth studies, media studies and the psychology and sociology of interpersonal relationships.

This detailed examination of the variety of the adolescent's social worlds looks at the processes involved in social interactions, with specific reference to adolescent development.

This fully updated new edition offers a research-based analysis of the online social world of adolescence, incorporating additional research findings that have appeared during the last decade. Talmud and Mesch take a realistic, sociological approach to online adolescents’ communication, demonstrating how online sociability is embedded in the larger social structure and in technological affordances. Combining perspectives from sociology, psychology, and education with a focus on social constructionism, technological determinism, and social networking, the authors present an empirically anchored review of the field. The book covers topics such as youth sociability, relationship formation, online communication, and cyberbullying to examine how young people use the Internet to construct or maintain their inter-personal relationships. This new edition also incorporates new research findings on online adolescents' behaviour in general, and specifically in relation to social apps, providing a more updated outlook regarding various dimensions of adolescents' online interactions. Wired Youth is essential reading for advanced students of adolescent psychology, youth studies, media studies, and the psychology and sociology of interpersonal relationships, as well as undergraduate students in developmental psychology, social psychology, youth studies, media studies, and sociology.

A Cross-National Study of Adolescent Self-Image Adolescence is not, as has been previously assumed, a developmental stage that was defined after the industrial revolution. There is substan tial historical evidence to suggest that adolescence and youth, as a stage, was recognized by the ancient Romans, Greeks, and even Egyp tians. The concept survived through the Dark Ages. In Le Grand Pro prietaire, written in 1556, it is stated: "The third age, which is called adolescence, . . . ends in the twenty-first year . . . and it can go on till thirty or thirty-five. The age is called adolescence because the person is big enough to beget children. In this age the limbs are soft and able to grow and receive strength and vigor from natural heat" (Aries, 1962, p. 21). The span of years devoted to adolescent development varies in different cultures and with different definitions. The term adolescence is no longer equivalent to pubescence. "Adolescence" is a psycho social-biological stage of development that corresponds to changes in many areas which accompany the transition from childhood to adult hood. The working definition of adolescence we use is the stage of life that starts with puberty and ends at the time when the person has attained a reasonable degree of independence from his parents. Once in high school or its equivalent, the vast majority of teenagers have al ready undergone the biological changes of puberty.

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.