Joy Dryfoos has been a major contributor to our understanding of adolescent development, its serious problems, and ways to overcome them. This book builds on her cumulative experience, knowledge, and judgment to make a powerful case for all our youth.
Adolescence is a time of profound biological transformation and social transition characterized by exploratory behavior. Much of this behavior is adaptive, but when carried to extremes, and especially if it becomes habitual, it can have lifelong adverse consequences. Many dangerous patterns, in fact, commonly emerge during these years such as substance abuse, premature and unprotected sex, the use of weapons, alienation from school.
To have a promising future, adolescents must find a valued place in a constructive group; learn how to form close, durable human relationships; earn a sense of worth as a person; achieve a reliable basis for making informed choices; express constructive curiosity and exploratory behavior; find ways of being useful to others; believe in a promising future with real opportunities; cultivate the inquiring and problem-solving habits of mind necessary for lifelong learning and adaptability; learn to respect democratic values and the elements of responsible citizenship; and altogether build a healthy lifestyle.
These requirements can be met by a conjunction of institutions that powerfully shape adolescent development, for better or worse--families, schools, community-based organizations, and health care organizations. Working models of effective programs for young adolescents can be observed in some communities, a few of which have been scrutinized by evaluative research. Dryfoos highlights programs and strategies that show promise of setting young people on the path toward healthy adulthood.
A variety of organizations and institutions can provide supplements or surrogates for parents, older siblings, and an extended family. Across the country there are many examples of such interventions. Churches, schools, universities and community organizations can build constructive social support networks that attract youngsters, including seriously disadvantaged ones, in ways that foster their health, their education and their personal capacities. All this bears strongly on healthy alternatives to school failure, substance abuse, and violent gang membership.
