Introduction to Adolescent Psychology

According to most social scientists, a generation is about 25 years in length. By that
measure, this second edition of the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology represents a
generational shift, for it was fully 25 years ago that the first edition of this volume was
published. A cursory glance at this edition’s table of contents will show just how broadly
the field has grown in that period of time, and a careful reading of the volume’s chapters
will reveal that the generational shift has been as deep as it has been broad.
When the first edition of the Handbook was published in 1980, the empirical study
of adolescence, by our calculation, was barely 5 years old. Much of what was prepared
for that Handbook was, of necessity, theoretical because there was very little empirical
work on which contributors could draw. In addition, much of the theorizing was psychoanalytic
in nature, because through the mid-1970s that had been the dominant
worldview among those who thought about adolescence. Now, it is fair to say that the
field has reached full maturity, or at least a level of maturity comparable to that found
in the study of any other period of development. Indeed, as we note in the first chapter
of the volume, in which we review and reflect on the development of the scientific study
of adolescence, research on the second decade of life often serves as a model for research
on other stages of development. As the contributions to this volume clearly illustrate,
the science of adolescent psychology is sophisticated, interdisciplinary, and
empirically rigorous. Interestingly enough, grand theories of adolescence, whether
psychoanalytic or not, have waned considerably in their influence.
Other generational changes can also be discerned by comparing the second and first
editions of the Handbook. First, the study of adolescent difficulty and disturbance has
taken a backseat to the study of processes of normative development. Accordingly, although
the current edition includes several chapters on the development of psychological
problems in adolescence, they by no means dominate the volume’s contents. Second,
our knowledge about the ways in which processes of adolescent development are
shaped by interacting and embedded systems of proximal and distal contextual forces
has made the study of adolescence less purely psychological in nature and far more interdisciplinary.
While psychology continues to be the primary discipline reflected in the
contents (and, of course, the title) of this Handbook, it is not the only one. Contributors
to the volume have drawn on a wide array of disciplines, including sociology, biology,
education, neuroscience, and law. Third, the growth in applied developmental
science over the past decade has led to a more explicit focus on the ways in which empirically
based knowledge about adolescence can be used to promote positive youth development.
Several contributions to this volume reflect this emphasis.
This edition of the Handbook of Adolescent Psychology is concerned with all aspects
ix
of development during the second decade of life, with all the contexts in which this development
takes place and with a wide array of social implications and applications of
the scientific knowledge gained through empirical research. This edition is divided into
three broad sections: foundations of adolescent development, the contexts of adolescent
development, and special challenges and opportunities that arise at adolescence.
These sections are preceded by a foreword (by William Damon) and followed by an afterword
(by Beatrix and David Hamburg), which locate the Handbook’s contribution
within the history of the field of adolescent development.
The first section of the Handbook examines the foundations of the scientific study
of individual development in adolescence. Following an introductory chapter that
overviews the past history and future prospects of adolescent psychology as a scientific
enterprise (Lerner and Steinberg), contributions in this section examine puberty and its
impact on psychological development (Susman and Rogol), cognitive and brain development
(Keating), the development of the self (Nurmi), academic motivation and
achievement in school settings (Eccles), morality and prosocial development (Eisenberg
and Morris), sexuality and sexual relationships (Savin-Williams and Diamond), gender
and gender role development (Galambos), and processes of risk and resilience (Compas).
Taken together, these chapters illustrate the ways in which biological, intellectual,
emotional, and social development unfold and interact during the second decade of the
life span.
The second section focuses on the immediate and broader contexts in which adolescent
development takes place. The chapters in this section situate adolescent development
across history, cultures, and regions of the world (Larson and Wilson); within
the family, and especially in the context of the parent-child relationship (Collins and
Laursen); within the interconnected and nested contexts of peer relationships, including
friendships, romantic relationships, adversarial relationships, cliques, and crowds
(Brown); in relationships with adult mentors at work and in the community (Hamilton
and Hamilton); in the settings of work and leisure (Staff, Mortimer, and Uggen); in neighborhood
contexts (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn); within the contexts defined by mass
media and technology (Roberts, Henriksen, and Foehr); and within the law (Scott and
Woolard). Consistent with the ecological perspective on human development that has
dominated research on adolescence for the past two decades, these contributions show
how variations in proximal, community, and distal contexts profoundly shape and alter
the developmental processes, trajectories, and outcomes associated with adolescence.
The final section of the Handbook examines a variety of challenges and opportunities
that can threaten or facilitate healthy development in adolescence and explores the
ways in which maladaptive as well as positive trajectories of youth development unfold.
The first set of contributions in this section considers threats to the well-being of adolescents,
including physical illness, examined from an international perspective (Blum
and Nelson-Mmari); internalizing problems, including depression, anxiety, and disordered
eating (Graber); externalizing problems, including conduct disorder, aggression,
and delinquency (Farrington); substance use and abuse, including the use and abuse of
tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs (Chassin, Hussong, Barrera, Molina, Trim, and Ritter);
and developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental
retardation, and other neurological impairments (Hauser-Cram and Krauss). The second
set of contributions in this concluding section examines three sorts of opportunix
Preface
ties with the potential to promote health and well-being in adolescence: the promotion
of volunteerism and civic engagement among youth (Flanagan); the application of developmental
science to facilitate healthy adolescent development (Sherrod, Busch-
Rossnagel, and Fisher); and the development of policies and programs explicitly designed
to promote positive youth development (Benson, Mannes, Pittman, and Ferber).
There are numerous people to thank for their important contributions to the Handbook.
First and foremost, we owe our greatest debt of gratitude to the colleagues who
wrote the chapters, foreword, and afterword for the Handbook. Their scholarly excellence
and leadership and their commitment to the field are the key assets for any contributions
that this Handbook will make both to the scientific study of adolescence and
to the application of knowledge that is requisite for enhancing the lives of diverse young
people worldwide.
We appreciate as well the important support and guidance provided to us by the
members of the editorial board for the Handbook. We thank Peter L. Benson, Dale A.
Blyth, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, B. Bradford Brown, W. Andrew Collins, William Damon,
Jacquelynne Eccles, David Elkind, Nancy Galambos, Robert C. Granger, Beatrix
Hamburg, Stuart Hauser, E. Mavis Hetherington, Reed Larson, Jacqueline V. Lerner,
David Magnusson, Anne C. Petersen, Diane Scott-Jones, Lonnie R. Sherrod, Margaret
Beale Spencer, and Wendy Wheeler for their invaluable contributions.
We are very grateful to Karyn Lu, managing editor in the Applied Developmental
Science Institute in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University.
Her impressive ability to track and coordinate the myriad editorial tasks associated
with a project of this scope, her astute editorial skills and wisdom, and her neverdiminishing
good humor and positive attitude were invaluable resources throughout
our work.
We are also appreciative of our publishers and editors at John Wiley & Sons: Peggy
Alexander, Jennifer Simon, and Isabel Pratt. Their enthusiasm for our vision for the
Handbook, their unflagging support, and their collegial and collaborative approach to
the development of this project were vital bases for the successful completion of the
Handbook.
We also want to express our gratitude to the several organizations that supported
our scholarship during the time we worked on the Handbook. Tufts University and
Temple University provided the support and resources necessary to undertake and
complete a project like this. In addition, Richard M. Lerner thanks the National 4-H
Council, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Jacobs Foundation, and Laurence
Steinberg thanks the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, for their generous
support.
Finally, we want to dedicate this Handbook to our greatest sources of inspiration,
both for our work on the Handbook and for our scholarship in the field of adolescence:
our children, Blair, Jarrett, Justin, and Ben. Now all in their young adulthood, they
have taught us our greatest lessons about the nature and potentials of adolescent development.