Adolescence: A Very Short Introduction

Adolescence is a turbulent period to live through, and a time of importance and concern to parents, teachers, and social workers. Marking the transition from the world of childhood to adult life, the adolescent faces many challenges and opportunities, including forming their own identity, relating to often conflicting demands from parents and peers, and negotiating first romantic relationships.
In this Very Short Introduction, Peter K. Smith provides an engaging and informative overview of what we know and what we are learning about adolescence. Including both a guide to the classical research that has informed our knowledge, as well as the results of the modern research into the contemporary adolescent experience, Smith examines a number of aspects of adolescence, including the cultural and historical context, the biological changes to the adolescent brain, and the
controversies that adolescence brings.
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Peter K Smith is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the Unit for School and Family Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, U.K. He is author of Children and Play (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and Understanding School Bullying: Its Nature and Prevention Strategies (Sage Publications, 2014). He is co-author of Understanding Children's Development (Wiley-Blackwell, 5th ed. 2011), and co-editor of the Handbook of Childhood Social
Development (2nd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and Cyberbullying through the new media: Findings from an international network (Hove: Psychology Press, 2013). He is currently Principal Investigator of a European-Indian Network Project on Bullying, Cyberbullying, and School Safety and Wellbeing (2012-2015).