A tour through the groundbreaking science behind the enigmatic, but crucial, brain developments of adolescence and how those translate into teenage behavior The brain creates every feeling, emotion, and desire we experience, and stores every one of our memories. And yet, until very recently, scientists believed our brains were fully developed from childhood on. Now, thanks to imaging technology that enables us to look inside the living human brain at all ages, we know that this isn't so. Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, one of the world's leading researchers into adolescent neurology, explains precisely what is going on in the complex and fascinating brains of teenagers -- namely that the brain goes on developing and changing right through adolescence--with profound implications for the adults these young people will become. Drawing from cutting-edge research, including her own, Blakemore shows: How an adolescent brain differs from those of children and adults Why problem-free kids can turn into challenging teens What drives the excessive risk-taking and all-consuming relationships common among teenagers And why many mental illnesses -- depression, addiction, schizophrenia -- present during these formative years Blakemore's discoveries have transformed our understanding of the teenage mind, with consequences for law, education policy and practice, and, most of all, parents.

In Inventing Modern Adolescence Sarah E. Chinn follows the roots of American teenage identity further back, to the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Addressing the intersecting issues of urban life, race, gender, sexuality, and class consciousness, Inventing Modern Adolescence is an authoritative and engaging look at a pivotal point in American history and the intriguing, complicated, and still very pertinent teenage identity that emerged from it.

There is a widespread and deep awareness that all is not well with American public education nor with the students, educators, and administrators who are charged with making citizens literate. Joseph Adelson's work has gained considerable prominence in this ongoing reevaluation. Writing with force, verve, and the tools of advanced study, Adelson's book provides what might be the most comprehensive look at American education since the work of Diane Ravitch. The materials include revised and updated versions of essays that caused a real stir when they first appeared in the pages of "Commentary, Daedalus, The American Scholar," and "The Public Interest," among other places. The work goes against the grain of rhetoric but quite with the grain of the best in social science: That the erosion of trust in the American young has been far less severe than in the American old, that the degree of pathology, alienation, and rebelliousness in the American adolescent population is far from alarming. On the whole, each and every serious research study shows the vast majority of teenagers to be competent, purposeful, at ease with themselves, and closely bonded to their families and their values. This is, however, no pollyannish version of American education, but a tough-minded critique of educators and administrators who prefer ideological generalities to empirical truths, and whose vested interests are not in the requirements of learning, but ultimately in its subversion. The invention of adolescence was a search for a problem child more nearly detected in problematic adults. "This is an excellent collection of essays on the political life course of adolescence. Most of these essays are carefully organized and well written. Readers might not alaways agree with Adelson's pungent, polemic style and dogged realism; and they might find some of his arguments wornbut they will always find in reading these essays a compassionate, first rate scholar searching for core principals to explain adolescent bejavior."--Richard G. Braungart, "Contemporary Sociology" "Joseph Adelson" is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Michigan. He has written widely in scholarly and popular journals, and is the editor of the highly regarded "Handbook of Adolescent Psychology."

There is a widespread and deep awareness that all is not well with American public education nor with the students, educators, and administrators who are charged with making citizens literate. Joseph Adelson's work has gained considerable prominence in this ongoing reevaluation. Writing with force, verve, and the tools of advanced study, Adelson's book provides what might be the most comprehensive look at American education since the work of Diane Ravitch. The materials include revised and updated versions of essays that caused a real stir when they first appeared in the pages of Commentary, Daedalus, The American Scholar, and The Public Interest, among other places.The work goes against the grain of rhetoric but quite with the grain of the best in social science: That the erosion of trust in the American young has been far less severe than in the American old, that the degree of pathology, alienation, and rebelliousness in the American adolescent population is far from alarming. On the whole, each and every serious research study shows the vast majority of teenagers to be competent, purposeful, at ease with themselves, and closely bonded to their families and their values. This is, however, no pollyannish version of American education, but a tough-minded critique of educators and administrators who prefer ideological generalities to empirical truths, and whose vested interests are not in the requirements of learning, but ultimately in its subversion. The invention of adolescence was a search for a problem child more nearly detected in problematic adults.

This text is written through case studies and interviews.

A New York Times Bestseller Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers. Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals. The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development. Samples of some of the most recent findings include: Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily "build" memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain. Studies show that girls' brains are a full two years more mature than boys' brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior. Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ. Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers. Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.

The essays in this volume are written by clinicians, psychologists, sociologists, educators, parents and de-transitioners. Contributors demonstrate how ‘transgender children and young people’ are invented in different medical, social and political contexts: from specialist gender identity development services to lobby groups and their school resources, gender guides and workbooks; from the world of the YouTube vlogger to the consulting rooms of psychiatrists; from the pharmaceutical industry to television documentaries; and from the developmental models of psychologists to the complexities of intersex medicine. Far from just investigating how they are invented the authors demonstrate the considerable psychological and physical harms perpetrated on children and young people by transgender ideology, and offer tangible examples of where and how adults should intervene to protect them.