The Promise of Adolescence

The Promise of Adolescence PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309490111
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

The Promise of Adolescence

The Promise of Adolescence PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309490111
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 493

Get Book Here

Book Description
Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

The Science of Adolescent Risk-Taking

The Science of Adolescent Risk-Taking PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309158524
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

Consequences of Growing Up Poor

Consequences of Growing Up Poor PDF Author: Greg J. Duncan
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 161044826X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 673

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Book Description
One in five American children now live in families with incomes below the povertyline, and their prospects are not bright. Low income is statistically linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence. To address these problems it is not enough to know that money makes a difference; we need to understand how. Consequences of Growing Up Poor is an extensive and illuminating examination of the paths through which economic deprivation damages children at all stages of their development. In Consequences of Growing Up Poor, developmental psychologists, economists, and sociologists revisit a large body of studies to answer specific questions about how low income puts children at risk intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Many of their investigations demonstrate that although income clearly creates disadvantages, it does so selectively and in a wide variety of ways. Low-income preschoolers exhibit poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are generally exposed to fewer toys, books, and other stimulating experiences in the home. Poor parents also tend to rely on home-based child care, where the quality and amount of attention children receive is inferior to that of professional facilities. In later years, conflict between economically stressed parents increases anxiety and weakens self-esteem in their teenaged children. Although they share economic hardships, the home lives of poor children are not homogenous. Consequences of Growing Up Poor investigates whether such family conditions as the marital status, education, and involvement of parents mitigate the ill effects of poverty. Consequences of Growing Up Poor also looks at the importance of timing: Does being poor have a different impact on preschoolers, children, and adolescents? When are children most vulnerable to poverty? Some contributors find that poverty in the prenatal or early childhood years appears to be particularly detrimental to cognitive development and physical health. Others offer evidence that lower income has a stronger negative effect during adolescence than in childhood or adulthood. Based on their findings, the editors and contributors to Consequences of Growing Up Poor recommend more sharply focused child welfare policies targeted to specific eras and conditions of poor children's lives. They also weigh the relative need for income supplements, child care subsidies, and home interventions. Consequences of Growing Up Poor describes the extent and causes of hardships for poor children, defines the interaction between income and family, and offers solutions to improve young lives. JEANNE BROOKS-GUNN is Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also director of the Center for Young Children and Families, and co-directs the Adolescent Study Program at Teachers College.

Handbook of Resilience in Children

Handbook of Resilience in Children PDF Author: Sam Goldstein
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031147286
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
The third edition of this handbook addresses not only the concept of resilience in children who overcome adversity, but it also explores the development of children not considered at risk addressing recent challenges as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new edition reviews the scientific literature that supports findings that stress-hardiness and resilience in all children leads to happier and healthier lives as well as improved functionality across the lifespan. In this edition, expert contributors examine resilience in relation to environmental stressors as phenomena in child and adolescent disorders and as a means toward positive adaptation into adulthood. The significantly expanded third edition includes new and significantly revised chapters that explore strategies for developing resilience in families, clinical practice, and educational settings as well as its nurturance in caregivers and teachers. Key areas of coverage include: Exploration of the four waves of resilience research. Resilience in gene-environment transactions. Resilience in boys and girls. Resilience in family processes. Asset building as an essential component of intervention. Assessment of social and emotional competencies related to resilience. Building resilience through school bullying prevention. Resilience in positive youth development. Enhancing resilience through effective thinking. The Handbook of Resilience in Children, Third Edition, is an essential reference for researchers, clinicians and allied practitioners, and graduate students across such interrelated disciplines as child and school psychology, social work, public health as well as developmental psychology, special and general education, child and adolescent psychiatry, family studies, and pediatrics.

Risks and Opportunities

Risks and Opportunities PDF Author: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309172462
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
This report constitutes one of the first activities of the Forum on Adolescence, a cross-cutting activity of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies. Established under the auspices of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, the forum's overaching mission is to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate scientific research on critical national issues that relate to youth and their families, as well as to disseminate research and its policy and programmatic implications. The goals of the forum are to: (1) review and establish the science base on adolescent health and development and make efforts to foster this development; (2) identify new directions and support for research in this area, approaching research as a resource to be developed cumulatively over time; (3) showcase new research, programs, and policies that have demonstrated promise in improving the health and well-being of adolescents; (4) convene and foster collaborations among individuals who represent diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, with a view to enhancing the quality of leadership in this area; and (5) disseminate research on adolescence and its policy implications to a wide array of audiences, from the scientific community to the lay public.

Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability

Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309170362
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Adolescents obviously do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, even as defined by them. Sometimes their perception of their own risks, even of survival to adulthood, is larger than the reality; in other cases, they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviors. It is possible, indeed likely, that some adolescents engage in risky behaviors because of a perception of invulnerabilityâ€"the current conventional wisdom of adults' views of adolescent behavior. Others, however, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness. In either case, these perceptions can prompt adolescents to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability. A small planning group was formed to develop a workshop on reconceptualizing adolescent risk and vulnerability. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Workshop on Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Setting Priorities took place on March 13, 2001, in Washington, DC. The workshop's goal was to put into perspective the total burden of vulnerability that adolescents face, taking advantage of the growing societal concern for adolescents, the need to set priorities for meeting adolescents' needs, and the opportunity to apply decision-making perspectives to this critical area. This report summarizes the workshop.

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8)

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8) PDF Author: Donald A. P. Bundy
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464804397
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 977

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Book Description
More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.

The State of the World's Children 2011

The State of the World's Children 2011 PDF Author:
Publisher: UNICEF
ISBN: 9280645552
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
The State of the World's Children 2011: Adolescence - An Age of Opportunity examines the global state of adolescents; outlines the challenges they face in health, education, protection and participation; and explores the risks and vulnerabilities of this pivotal stage. The report highlights the singular opportunities that adolescence offers, both for adolescents themselves and for the societies they live in. The accumulated evidence demonstrates that investing in adolescents' second decade is our best hope of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and inequity and of laying the foundation for a more peaceful, tolerant and equitable world.

Adolescent Diversity in Ethnic, Economic, and Cultural Contexts

Adolescent Diversity in Ethnic, Economic, and Cultural Contexts PDF Author: Raymond Montemayor
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 0761921273
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
This book summarizes and integrates theory and research on adolescents from a diversity of ethnic, economic, and geographic contexts. The book aims to present a more balanced picture of these understudied and misunderstood adolescents by focusing on positive, healthy development.

Challenges in Adolescent Health Care

Challenges in Adolescent Health Care PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309179971
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
Several positive and negative lifelong behaviors are established during adolescence including diet and exercise, sexual conduct, practices related to oral health, smoking, drinking, and the use if legal and illegal substances. The complex issues that adolescents deal with on a daily basis can turn into health problems that persist throughout adulthood. Unfortunately the adolescents who are frequently the most disconnected from routine health care services - those who lack insurance and family support - are often those at greatest risk for multiple and chronic health problems. Therefore, those that are responsible for delivering health care services to adolescents must address the health conditions that require immediate attention while preparing young people to adopt practices that can help improve their future health status and prevent unhealthy behaviors. Challenges in Adolescent Health Care studies adolescent health care in the United States, highlights critical health care needs, and identifies service models and components of care that may strengthen and improve health care services, settings, and systems for adolescents. The book explores the nature of adolescent challenges and how they reflect larger societal issues such as poverty, crime and the prevalence of violence. These issues, in addition to lack of comprehensive health coverage, dysfunctional families and the lack of support systems, make providing adequate health care incredibly challenging. Challenges in Adolescent Health Care defines high-quality health care, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of various service models and explores various training programs. The book recommends that health care providers must be sensitive to socioeconomic factors and incorporate health care in a broad array of settings including schools, neighborhoods and community centers.