
Adolescence
Growing Up in America Today
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 31. August 2006
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-19-517961-3 (ISBN)
Description
Of the 33 million adolescents in the United States, almost 10 million are at risk of failing to become responsible adults. They attend schools that do not serve their needs, lack the support of caring adults, and, as a result, are alienated from mainstream society. African-American and Hispanic children, increasingly segregated in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, are particularly vulnerable.
In Adolescence: Growing Up in America Today, a follow-up to Joy Dryfoos's landmark volume, Adolescents at Risk (OUP, 1991), Joy Dryfoos and Carol Barkin take a close look at the lives of young people, identify some of their problems, and present solutions based on state-of-the-art prevention and treatment strategies. They examine important issues in adolescents' lives - sex, violence, drugs, health, mental health, and education. Reviewing successful prevention programs and policy studies, Dryfoos and Barkin demonstrate that we know what to do to prevent high-risk behaviours: young people need to establish relationships with adults; parents need to be involved in their children's lives; and programs need to be comprehensive, sensitive to cultural differences, and staffed by highly trained personnel.
Dryfoos and Barkin argue that turning our backs on adolescents will lead to disturbing consequences: the achievement gap will grow, outcomes will worsen, school systems will struggle with the growing disparities, and we as a nation will fall behind the rest of the world in our capacity to educate our youth. If, however, we decide that we want a better quality of life for our children, we will ensure that every young person has access to an excellent education. Schools, youth workers, and parents cannot alone provide a better quality of life for our adolescents, but each must play a major role, and all must work together. Providing a roadmap for the development and implementation of sound policies for American teenagers in the twenty-first century, this volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of our nation's youth.
In Adolescence: Growing Up in America Today, a follow-up to Joy Dryfoos's landmark volume, Adolescents at Risk (OUP, 1991), Joy Dryfoos and Carol Barkin take a close look at the lives of young people, identify some of their problems, and present solutions based on state-of-the-art prevention and treatment strategies. They examine important issues in adolescents' lives - sex, violence, drugs, health, mental health, and education. Reviewing successful prevention programs and policy studies, Dryfoos and Barkin demonstrate that we know what to do to prevent high-risk behaviours: young people need to establish relationships with adults; parents need to be involved in their children's lives; and programs need to be comprehensive, sensitive to cultural differences, and staffed by highly trained personnel.
Dryfoos and Barkin argue that turning our backs on adolescents will lead to disturbing consequences: the achievement gap will grow, outcomes will worsen, school systems will struggle with the growing disparities, and we as a nation will fall behind the rest of the world in our capacity to educate our youth. If, however, we decide that we want a better quality of life for our children, we will ensure that every young person has access to an excellent education. Schools, youth workers, and parents cannot alone provide a better quality of life for our adolescents, but each must play a major role, and all must work together. Providing a roadmap for the development and implementation of sound policies for American teenagers in the twenty-first century, this volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of our nation's youth.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
11 Fotos bzw. Rasterbilder
11 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
578 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-517961-3 (9780195179613)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2006
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€39.49
Available for download
Persons
Joy G. Dryfoos has received support from major foundations since 1981 for the "youth-at-risk" project, focusing on prevention programs related to sex, drugs, violence, and school failure. She has written 6 books and more than 100 articles on teenagers and on full-service community schools. Dryfoos is on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Community Schools and the Boston Roundtable for Full Service Schools. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Carol Barkin has written 35 books for children and young adults and 6 books for adults, both novels and nonfiction. Her best-known book for adults is When Your Kid Goes to College, which helps parents through this trying, though exhilarating, transition. Barkin is also a freelance editor and book doctor with a particular interest in the social sciences and psychology. She lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Carol Barkin has written 35 books for children and young adults and 6 books for adults, both novels and nonfiction. Her best-known book for adults is When Your Kid Goes to College, which helps parents through this trying, though exhilarating, transition. Barkin is also a freelance editor and book doctor with a particular interest in the social sciences and psychology. She lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Content
1. Why Look at Teens in the 21st Century? ; 2. Status of Youth Today ; 3. Sex ; 4. Violence and Delinquency ; 5. Drugs ; 6. Health and Mental Health ; 7. Education ; 8. Quality of Life ; 9. Summing It Up ; 10. Worst Case Scenario for the Future ; 11. Positive Scenario for the Future