Journal o f Youth and Adolescence, VoL 1, No. 1, 1972
Introductory Statement: Youth and Adolescence in Perspective The Journal of Youth and Adolescence will be open to research from a variety of perspectives. As can be seen from studying our editorial board, its members represent all portions of the psychological, sociological, and biological sciences. Research contributions are welcome from medicine, biology, and psychiatry, on the one hand, to psychology, psychoanalysis, the social sciences, law, and education on the other. We will also consider theoretical contributions and comprehensive review articles. We feel that conceptions concerning youth and adolescence can benefit from an exchange of ideas which stem from informed research within the field, Social and behavioral scientists have been studying adolescents and young adults not only because they are easy to define, relatively easy to reach and study, but also because whatever affects society at large is observed more intensively among young people. It appeared to us though that, while the number of books published on adolescents and youth has increased-considerably, we know very little about the basics of adolescence. What actually does take place during puberty? What are the processes involved in the psychosocial and cognitive development of adolescents? What are the political views and values of our youth (not only the vocal minority), how are these views and values different from those of their parents, and how do they change as the adolescent becomes an adult? The relationship between culture and personality has to be explored within a new framework: Not what is more important, nature or nurture, but how does each variable contribute to the total system which we call an individual? Are our schools really doing their job in educating our young? And if not what are the alternatives? Are our laws pertaining to family !ife and drug abuse relevant? How can we truly re-educate the juvenile delinquent so he can become a contributing member of society? Our theoretical notions concerning youth often lack factual bases. We can easily say that a young woman has not developed a solid identity. But how do we help her develop it? what does identity formation mean behaviorally and socially? We have developed many therapeutic approaches to help the young. Some work and others do not. Have we evaluated our approaches carefully enough to know when a~:therapeutic approach is warranted, who should perform it (and with what training), when it has worked, or why it has failed?
9 1972 Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street. New York, N.Y. 10011.
2
Introductory Statement
We sincerely hope that the journal will serve as an outlet for research on youth and adolescence and as a publication to which serious investigators can turn for an examination of "what is k n o w n " in the field. As such, the journal could perform an important function in raising the level of inquiry.
Daniel Offer Joseph Adelson
Introductory Statement: Youth and Adolescence in Perspective The Journal of Youth and Adolescence will be open to research from a variety of perspectives. As can be seen from studying our editorial board, its members represent all portions of the psychological, sociological, and biological sciences. Research contributions are welcome from medicine, biology, and psychiatry, on the one hand, to psychology, psychoanalysis, the social sciences, law, and education on the other. We will also consider theoretical contributions and comprehensive review articles. We feel that conceptions concerning youth and adolescence can benefit from an exchange of ideas which stem from informed research within the field, Social and behavioral scientists have been studying adolescents and young adults not only because they are easy to define, relatively easy to reach and study, but also because whatever affects society at large is observed more intensively among young people. It appeared to us though that, while the number of books published on adolescents and youth has increased-considerably, we know very little about the basics of adolescence. What actually does take place during puberty? What are the processes involved in the psychosocial and cognitive development of adolescents? What are the political views and values of our youth (not only the vocal minority), how are these views and values different from those of their parents, and how do they change as the adolescent becomes an adult? The relationship between culture and personality has to be explored within a new framework: Not what is more important, nature or nurture, but how does each variable contribute to the total system which we call an individual? Are our schools really doing their job in educating our young? And if not what are the alternatives? Are our laws pertaining to family !ife and drug abuse relevant? How can we truly re-educate the juvenile delinquent so he can become a contributing member of society? Our theoretical notions concerning youth often lack factual bases. We can easily say that a young woman has not developed a solid identity. But how do we help her develop it? what does identity formation mean behaviorally and socially? We have developed many therapeutic approaches to help the young. Some work and others do not. Have we evaluated our approaches carefully enough to know when a~:therapeutic approach is warranted, who should perform it (and with what training), when it has worked, or why it has failed?
9 1972 Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street. New York, N.Y. 10011.
2
Introductory Statement
We sincerely hope that the journal will serve as an outlet for research on youth and adolescence and as a publication to which serious investigators can turn for an examination of "what is k n o w n " in the field. As such, the journal could perform an important function in raising the level of inquiry.
Daniel Offer Joseph Adelson
