ABSTRACT
Research on adolescent populations has increased substantially over the last 20 years. All facets of development in the second decade of life, as well as the contexts in which this development is expressed and shaped, have come under increased scrutiny. Current study of the adolescent period is at the same time more complex and richly nuanced as well as more conceptually based. Our understanding of adolescence has benefitted from contributions across the disciplines of biology, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and history. Our growing knowledge of adolescence is scaffolded by multiple methods of data collection that include observations across numerous contexts, interviews, and dialogue groups with youths themselves, as well as with their parents or guardians, teachers, coaches, and friends, laboratory-based experimental work, and self-report survey formats. The excitement and energy surrounding these explorations is captured in many edited volumes addressing adolescent issues (Brooks-Gunn & Peterson, 1983, 1991; Feldman & Elliott, 1990; Graber, Brooks-Gunn, & Petersen, 1996; Lerner & Fuchs, 1987; McInerney & Levine, 1988; Millstein, Peterson, & Nightingale, 1993; Montemayor, Adams, & Gullotta, 1990). Additionally, several journals are now devoted to this pivotal decade of development (Journal of Youth and Adolescence; Journal of Adolescence; Journal of Research on Adolescence).
