ABSTRACT
A complex of biological, cognitive and social changes characterizes the period of adolescence. All these changes affect and are affected by changes in young people's social relations. Their relationships with parents become more symmetrical and the adolescents gain greater freedom to make their own decisions about their behaviour and personal commitments. This Special Issue is based on the papers presented at a workshop which was organized in June 2002 at the retirement of Dr Alexander (Sandy) E. Jackson. Although a lot of research has been conducted in several of these areas, the role of the individual's social cognitive processes is largely unexplored. Sandy Jackson's contributions to developmental psychology comprise his interconnected clinical and scientific experiences and publications. His enthusiasm and his warm, outgoing style of interaction with colleagues all over the world made him also a leader in boosting the internationalizing of adolescence psychology and developmental psychology at large, particularly at the European level.
