Employers are reluctant to put these adolescents into career track jobs, and society provides very few opportunities for post high school vocational training and support other than college. This study examines which family and personal characteristics are facilitative of positive adaptation and growth and which are predictive of less than optimal development. Because the longitudinal design includes six waves of data and a rich array of measures collected both from the parents and the adolescents themselves, as well as from teachers and school records, it is possible to study complex, dynamic change. To understand adolescent development, we need to understand the complex interplay of changes within the family system and the school. To explore the relations among these various influences, measures of the multiple influences over time are needed.
Adolescence is a critical period for the development of adult behaviors and attitudes.
Understanding the factors influencing pathways through adolescence requires a careful look at the development of typical adolescents in various social contexts. The need for this information is especially marked for adolescents of color. This page under construction.