Theories of Adolescent Development

Barbara M. Newman (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a professor emeritus in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island. She has also been on the faculty at Russell Sage College and the Ohio State University, where she served as department chair in Human Development and Family Science and as associate provost for Faculty Recruitment and Development. She has taught courses in life-span development, adolescence, family theories, and the research process. An active researcher, Dr. Newman’s interests focus on parent-child relationships in early adolescence, factors that promote success in the transition to high school and the transition to college, and the sense of belonging in early and later adolescence. Her most recent research focuses on the development of the sense of purpose among college students with disabilities. Philip R. Newman (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a social psychologist whose research has focused on the transition to high school as well as on group identity and alienation. He has taught courses in introductory psychology, adolescence, social psychology, developmental psychology, counseling, and family, school, and community contexts for development. He served as the director for Research and Evaluation of the Young Scholars Program at the Ohio State University and as the director of the Human Behavior Curriculum Project for the American Psychological Association. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), and the American Orthopsychiatric Association (now called the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice).

"The book will be a valuable resource for neuropsychologists, clinicians in other specialties, and students who want a comprehensive overview of the theories of adolescent development from a contemporary lens that includes discussions on theory applications and measurement. Newman and Newman have compiled a laudable work that achieves their intention to “inspire a more nuanced conceptualization of adolescent development.” It is sure to be an oft referenced work for those seeking to understand complex adolescent behaviors through a multi-tiered lens." --Applied Neuropsychology-Adult"The title Theories of Adolescent Development offers a big promise—somehow distilling the myriad guiding perspectives on how young people grow, mature, and learn into a single manageable volume. Barbara and Philip Newman deliver on that promise. Drawing on their own expertise in research and teaching, they cast an incredibly wide net to cover developmental theories that look within adolescents’ bodies and minds and that situate them in contexts large and small, and they delve deep into each one. All in one place, readers can find a history lesson on how scientific thinking about adolescents has evolved over history, a comprehensive overview of where the field stands now, and a guide to putting theory into action." -- Robert Crosnoe, Associate Dean of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin, and Past President of the Society for Research on Adolescence"The new Theories of Adolescent Development book by Newman and Newman is quite simply a delightful, productive, and provocative read — and I am not one to call most theory books delightful but this one is both clear and comprehensive. Each chapter is an easy read and the structure of each are parallel making comparisons cumulative and useful. I found the book productive in the ways it provided insights useful for new learners as well as seasoned researchers and active practitioners. Definitely would have used this to better inform my teaching of adolescent development but also in offering a richer understanding of adolescent development at upper undergraduate and graduate levels. Chapters from this book provide a richness, clarity and depth too often lacking when talking about theories of adolescent development and their interrelationships and application. I can imagine many graduate students working on theses I would refer to different chapters as well as people who train practitioners and want a sense of what we know and how we know it. The book would also be useful to the new breeds of youth workers who are digging it to better understand the roots of the field. The inclusion in each chapter of implications for practice and measurement as well as the strengths and limits of each approach is wonderfully done and extremely useful. As a scholar who has moved from trying to understand adolescent development to one that has come to focus on youth development and now seeks to use knowledge to improve development, I found the book both provocative and reflective of much of what we now know about both positive youth development and risk taking as what we need to challenge. In short, this is not only a must have book but a must read one for anyone trying to understand, teach, study, or support the development of young people in today’s world. Fortunately for us all, it is also a wonderful read with great insights that are readily accessed." -- Dale A. Blyth, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Howland Endowed Chair in Youth Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota

• About the AuthorsPreface1. IntroductionPart I - The Biological System2. Evolutionary Theory3. Biosocial Theories: Behavioral Genetics and Sociobiology4. Dynamic Systems TheoriesPart II - The Psychological System5. Psychoanalytic Theories6. Psychosocial Theories7. Cognitive Developmental Theories8. Self-Regulation TheoriesPart III - The Societal System9. Interpersonal Theories10. Family Theories11. Ecological Theories12. Social Role and Life Course Theories13. Cultural Theories14. SummaryIndex