Includes bibliographical references and index.

Adolescence as a life stage -- Puberty : body and brain changes -- Formal operational thought, moral development, and identity -- Relationship changes : parents and peers -- Youth culture : leisure pursuits and the cyberworld -- Risk-taking, antisocial behaviour, and delinquency -- Internalizing disorders and adolescent mental health -- Sexual and romantic development, early parenthood, and emerging adulthood.

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. --Publisher's description.