ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses development across a fascinating part of the life span-early adolescence, adolescence, and young adulthood. The time span covered is one in which individuals experience many changes, including the biological changes associated with puberty and the social and educational changes resulting from transitions from junior high to high school, from high school to college or the work force, and from college to the work force. During this period individuals make many choices and have many experiences that can direct the course of the rest of their adult lives. These choices include, among others, whether or not to stay in school, what career or occupation to undertake, and whether or not to get married. Despite their obvious importance, until recently the adolescent and young adult periods did not receive as much attention as childhood in the developmental literature. This has changed during the last decade, however; evidence of that change includes the new Society for Research on Adolescence, new journals on adolescence, and increased interest in postsecondary education, as shown by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement's funding of a center on postsecondary education focused on learning and thinking.
