Risks and Problem Behaviors in Adolescence

There are two main sections in this volume. The first section explores adolescents' interactions with several components of their social ecology. Their interpersonal exchanges with peers, including romantic relationships, their engagement with the world of work, and their relationship with parents are discussed. Consistent with a developmental contextual view of adolescence, the articles illustrate that social interactions are shaped by the relationships between the adolescent's characteristics of individuality and the specific features of his or her social context. For example, in establishing friendships, in negotiating linkages between peers and parents, in coping with social stressors, in the development of their sexuality, or in launching their engagement with work and careers youth bring particular cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and personality attributes to a social context also characterized by the presence of particular types of peer groups, institutional structures, socioeconomic resources, cultural patterns, and physical ecological attributes. Understanding the difference developments, both positive and negative, that derive from adolescents' interactions in their social-world requires a focus on the relations between these specific characteristics of the individual and his or her context.The second section discusses how societal institutions and, as well, public policies and intervention programs, may foster positive youth development. These articles demonstrate how an integration of basic and applied research knowledge can be used to inform policy and programs for youth. The articles provide examples of the importance of the individual-context relationships discussedin the first section. The articles demonstrate how the multiple contexts of adolescents may be structured in order to enhance the likelihood of promoting positive youth development while, simultaneously, decreasing the risksLerner, Richard M. is the author of 'Risks and Problem Behaviors in Adolescence' with ISBN 9780815332947 and ISBN 0815332947.