In this volume and its companion Adolescence and Breakdown, originally published in 1975, members of the Adolescent Department at the Tavistock Clinic and of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, together with other leading experts on the subject, present a unique study of adolescence.

Of all living species only human beings go through a period of adolescence – and because the conflicting influences that adolescents encounter both within themselves and in the outside world are so complex, even normal adolescence is a time of crises and adjustment.

While Adolescence and Breakdown traces what happens when these crises are not sufficiently well negotiated, the present volume is devoted to the dynamics and complexities of normal adolescence. The topics debated and explored include: the nature of puberty; family relationships; change and personality; adolescent sexuality; adolescents and authority; protest and politics; adolescence and creativity; groups, subcultures and countercultures in the adolescent world.