Synopses & Reviews
Beyond Adolescence traces the lives of adolescents and youth from the late 1960s into the late seventies and early eighties. It is unusual because of the period of time in which the study took place, as well as because of the portion of the lifespan it covers--early adulthood. Concerned with understanding the role of problem behavior in young adulthood and the factors that influence it, the study also traces outcomes on young adulthood of earlier involvements in problem behavior, with an emphasis on personality and social environment. The research extends and tests the theoretical framework that guided the study--Problem Behavior Theory--and shows its usefulness for understanding young adult problem behavior and development.
Review
"...an important sequel to the pioneering work of Richard and Shirley Jessor presented over 15 years ago...this work presents important data and analyses regarding crucial topics of drug use, problem behaviors, and psychosocial development from adolescence into young adulthood and provides some informative tests and expansion of problem behavior theory into young adulthood." Contemporary Psychology"It is well known that longitudinal studies are rare in the social sciences. Longitudinal studies driven by a coherent conceptual framework, and competent, state of the art statistical analyses, are even rarer. Yet this is exactly what one finds in Beyond Adolescence: Problem Behavior and Young Adult Development....a major strength of this work is the merging of sociological and psychological concepts....In my view, Jessor and his colleagues have enriched the behavioral sciences; this book deserves a wide readership." John H. Laub, Contemporary Sociology"...the critical reader will find this book useful because it will stimulate attempts to elaborate the theory and its concepts." Journal of Studies on Alcohol"...attempts and successfully accomplishes several goals: to describe development from adolescence into young adulthood in the two cohorts, to examine which aspects of adolescent development predict which aspects of development during young adulthood (focusing particularly on the impact of adolescent problem behaviors on young adult functioning), and to test the usefulness of problem behavior theory for understanding young adulthood (attending to both psychosocial proneness and experienced life stress as contributors to problem behaviors....excellent report on a quite interesting and significant study of young adulthood, and it is to be recommended to anyone with an interest in this understudied period of life." Lonnie Sherrod, Social Service Review
Synopsis
Concerned with understanding the role and influencing factors of problem behavior, this study of adolescents from the late 1960s through the early '80s also traces outcomes of earlier involvements in problem behavior, with an emphasis on personality and social environment.
Table of Contents
List of tables and figures; Preface; Part I. The Approach: 1. Introduction; 2. Problem-behaviour theory and young adulthood; 3. Following up lives; Part II. Young Adulthood: 4. The participants as young adults; 5. Problem behaviour in young adulthood; 6. Psychosocial correlates of problem behaviour in young adulthood; Part III. Development and Change: 7. Psychosocial development from adolescence to young adulthood; 8. Linking proneness to problem behaviour in adolescence with involvement in problem behaviour in young adulthood; 9. Involvement in problem behaviour in adolescence/youth and outcomes in young adulthood; Part IV. Conclusions: 10. Problem behaviour and young adulthood: Continuities in change; Name index; Subject index.