The adolescent period has attracted much attention as an ideal period for investigating interactive models incorporating biological maturation with intra- and interpersonal development. The focus of this volume is on adolescent transitions in three domains: the peer system, the family system, and school and work contexts. Its goal is to highlight specific aspects of innovative research programs and initiatives, and look forward to future directions in the field. Because interest in adolescence has spanned the disciplines, this volume reflects a multidisciplinary perspective—presenting research and methods from life-span development, sociology, anthropology, and education to provide exemplars of the range of approaches used in understanding the processes and transitions of adolescent development. These exemplars encompass the breadth not only of the investigation of adolescence—from survey research on drug use to ethnographic studies of involvement in criminal activities—but also of individual differences in the experience of adolescent transitions—from the transition to college and work in White, middle-class youth to the work experiences of urban, African-American high school students.
The chapters collected here offer a rich sample of the diversity of research experience with an emphasis on in-depth investigation of adolescent transitions. The volume will serve as a resource to investigators across several disciplines as it identifies approaches and recent findings from alternate fields.