Presents an interview with Chris Crutcher, writer for teens and winner of this year's Margaret A. Edwards Award. Discusses his childhood; reasons for writing about teenagers; his views on exposing adolescents to difficult subjects; insights from his experiences as a child and family therapist; role of humor; and reader responses to his stories.…

Examines the role of patriarchy and capitalism in shaping adolescent girls' experiences of sexuality and conceptions of relationships. Analysis of letters to a teen advice column highlights concerns and issues of sexuality, gender identity, and relationships for adolescent girls. Argues that during early adolescence, the power and contradictions…

Article discusses the After-School Girl's Leadership Program in Seattle designed to foster positive development in girls. Their ideas and concerns are at the center of the curriculum, and they are able to experience the power of positive peer support. The program empowers them to address the environmental concerns that impede development.…

Surveyed adolescents and their parents regarding the effects of 10 youth developmental assets on adolescent tobacco use. Results highlighted a strong relationship between having any of nine assets and not smoking. Important assets included having adult, parental, and peer role models; family communication; good use of time; religion; effective…

Suggests that modern civilization isolates teens from real life and creates constraints that can result in psychosocial disorders. Explains that conflict in adolescence is caused by a mismatch between genetically programmed desires and culturally programmed opportunities. Outlines remedial actions that are necessary to make teenagers' lives…

This article proposes guided viewing of film as a counseling strategy through which middle and high school counselors and educators may assist gifted students in gaining helpful insights to deal with the personal problems. It presents a theoretical foundation for this approach, a variety of strategies for implementation, and three sample plans for…

Over the past several years, increased interest in preventing youth problems and promoting healthy youth development has led youth and family practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to develop a wide range of approaches based on various theoretical frameworks. Although the growth in guiding frameworks has led to more complex models and a…

The first aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which the larger network of family relationships (parent-adolescent, marital, and sibling relations) affect adolescent adjustment. The second aim was to identify distinct patterns of family relationships and to examine whether these different family relationship patterns are…

One of the major challenges facing youth workers today is the development of programs and services that are meaningful and relevant and that promote in young people a sense of responsibility for their learning and personal growth. In order to more adequately develop youth programming that will attract and challenge a greater portion of youths,…

This article provides an overview of the history of research on adolescence. In our view, the history of the scientific study of adolescence has had two overlapping phases and is now on the cusp of a third. The first phase, which began early in the 20th century and lasted about 70 years, was characterized by grand theoretical models that…

Over the past 5 years the scientific study of adolescence has continued to grow in volume and sophistication. Drawing on recent articles published in the "Journal of Research on Adolescence", I take this opportunity to comment on some common understandings about the nature of adolescent development and behavior, recurrent tensions in the research,…

This article is based on a study of young people's help-seeking. Fifty-five qualitative interviews with young people aged 13-14 are analysed to take account of stage process models. It is argued that while the models do have relevance to young people's help-seeking, they have two key limitations. First, they ignore problem legitimization. Second,…

This article discusses published poetry books focusing on middle school students' exuberant interests and passions as explored through these topics: family and relationships, transitions and growing up, school encounters, exploring things to do, and broader perspectives and other voices. In "Love Letters," Adoff (1997a) presents a series of 20…

Across the country, youth advocates, civic activists, community builders, and young people themselves have been calling for more meaningful roles for young people in society. This special issue brings the voices of researchers into that conversation. In doing so, it builds in important ways on a small but growing evidence base that underscores the…

The increasing availability of Internet and cell phones has provided new avenues through which adolescents can bully. Electronic bullying is a new form of bullying that may threaten adolescent social and emotional development. In this study the relation between involvement in electronic and traditional bullying was examined. Eighty-four…