The Total Early Adolescent in Contemporary Society

Abstract

sense of urgency they feel is to be different, to be socially involved, much more so than any previous generation has ever experienced. These kids, still absorbed in blind faith in parents and in hero worship, are challenged by their peers and older exploiters to be involved behaviorally in areas such as alcohol, drugs, sex, delinquency, and in challenges to authority. The early adolescent who may sit quietly, be attentive, and is a diligent student in the classroom, as hard as it is to believe, may also be engaged in vandalism, gluesniffing, or ripping off a friend on the way home from school.