Describes how intervention for families with abused or neglected adolescents usually focuses on the troubled youth with the abuse or neglect either overlooked or ignored. Argues that a developmental perspective is essential to the understanding and assessment of the family dynamics of adolescent mistreatment, and presents case examples. Offers…

Appraises current research, which is linked to the distinctive cognitive, social, and biological features of adolescence. The domain of investigation needs to be expanded to encompass ethnic groups and family structures. (NH)

Examined parent-adolescent communication and dimensions of parent-adolescent interaction that predict parents' self-esteem. Showed that adolescents and parents had similar but distinct perceptions of their relationships; self-perceptions of these relationships, especially self-judgments of communication, were predictive of self-esteem for both…

This article reports on the growth of sexual awareness and physiology among a randomly-selected sample of 541 Chinese middle school students. Maintains that the results show the need for sex education and the harmful results of failing to provide it. Advocates that a general discussion on the subject of sex education be promoted in educational…

This study examined the influence of pubertal timing upon family interactions in normal and psychiatric adolescent samples, emphasizing microanalysis of family behaviors and processes. It was found that on-time adolescents and their parents differed from both off-time groups. (Author/LMO)

Describes examples of adolescent behavior which parents and school personnel find obnoxious. Explains why intelligent, reasonable, and well-adjusted teenagers periodically behave in this way, as something that is developmentally inevitable given the uneven development of competencies in several important areas. Adolescent incompetencies in four…

Reviews the nature of middle schools and distinguishes them from junior high schools. Places special emphasis on the role of art in the middle school's curriculum in order to achieve knowledge, skill, and personal development goals. (JDH)

Urges teachers to resist common adolescent desires to copy or trace figures rather than draw them freehand. Cites evidence supporting the need for drawing instruction in the middle school. (JDH)

Examines three contrasting teaching styles in a middle-class junior high school. Performance expectations of the school culture often conflict with the developmental needs of early adolescents to integrate expressive, peer-oriented behavior into classroom activities. Teachers' responses to this tension determine their teaching styles. (Author/LHW)

Discusses the problems and needs of adolescents who grow up in foster care as they make the transition to independent living. (Author/HOD)

Considers forces which influence the behavior of adolescents during dating, and traces changes in dating patterns. The main areas of influence during dating are seen as physiological changes, social pressures, and the personal meaning attributed to these forces in the individual's striving toward maturity. (JAC)

Discusses five developmental needs of adolescents and explains how they contribute to an "instrumental approach" to the selection of library materials. Highlights include traditional attitudes of librarians; place of popular culture in libraries; popular culture media as arbitrators of behaviors; and heroes, mass media, and reading.…

Changes in teacher education programs and middle-level curricula are advocated based on the sociological implications of research on middle-level education. Teaching and learning effectiveness can be improved with better understanding of adolescent development. (DF)

Explains the attraction of Ursula LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" for teenage readers by showing how many of its themes reflect the concerns of adolescent life. (RBW)

Reviews three existing sequential models of mate selection: Kerckhoff and Davis' Filter Model, Murstein's Stimulus-Value-Role Model, and Lewis's Premarital Dyadic Formation Model. Challenges the validity of these models and discusses implications for future research. (JAC)