Parent-adolescent conflicts are frequently sufficiently severe to require third-party intervention. Because the adolescent is more likely to be in a setting where counsel is more easily available, the helping person can make use of insight and emotional maturity that is concomitant with the adolescent's acquisition of formal thought. (Author)

Discusses Erikson's ideas on the importance of historical perspective in identity formation and values. Suggests the developmental processes at adolescence and the way in which the individual and society react and interact have implications for the transmission and nurturing of values by both individual adults and the collective society. (RC)