The Adolescent Journey

Book excerpt: "The Adolescent Journey is a comprehensive statement about adolescent development, identity formation, and treatment from three different points of view: the individual, the family, and the sociocultural world. How and when adolescents see themselves as separate from their families and how they come to see themselves as members of larger ethnic and cultural groups are major themes in this work. No adolescent goes through this developmental period in isolation, no family sets itself apart from a member going through adolescence, and every adolescent's experience is colored by the historical and cultural period in which it occurs. The Adolescent Journey specifically addresses cultural pressures affecting today's adolescents: the earlier onset of puberty, the rise in the incidence of adolescent eating disorders, the threat of AIDS infection, the danger of alcohol and drug abuse, and increasingly competitive school and work environments. The book also explores in depth the connection between physical development and emotional and social growth, and how this connection develops into adolescent gender and sexual identities, as well as the capacity to be in emotionally and physically intimate relationships." "This book is rooted in an appreciation for the profound impact of adolescence on our lives. It is written so that those who live with adolescents can see them with greater respect and understanding, and find it easier to react to them with greater tolerance; that those who work clinically with adults can recognize more readily when adolescent issues arise with their patients; and that those who work with this age group can share the author's enthusiasm and wonder in seeing them change from day to day. Finally, this book inspires a return to adolescence: to the deep questioning of ourselves and our world that is the hallmark of this remarkable time of life."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved