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FORUM ON ADOLESCENCE
DAVID A. HAMBURG (Chair),
Carnegie Corporation of New York
(President Emeritus)
HUDA AKIL,
Mental Health Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
CHERYL ALEXANDER,
Center for Adolescent Health, Johns Hopkins University
CLAIRE BRINDIS,
Institute for Health Policy Studies, Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
GREG DUNCAN,
Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
JACQUELYNNE ECCLES,
School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ABIGAIL ENGLISH,
Adolescent Health Care Project, National Center for Youth Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
EUGENE GARCIA,
School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
HELENE KAPLAN,
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom, New York
IRIS F. LITT,
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Stanford University
JOHN MERROW,
The Merrow Report, New York
ANNE C. PETERSEN,
W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Michigan
KAREN PITTMAN,
International Youth Foundation, Baltimore
ANNE PUSEY,
Jane Goodall Institute's Center, University of Minnesota
MICHAEL RUTTER,
Institute of Psychiatry, University of London
STEPHEN A. SMALL,
Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison
BEVERLY DANIEL TATUM,
Office of the Dean, Mt. Holyoke College
CAMILLE ZUBRINSKY CHARLES,
Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
BARUCH FISCHHOFF, Liaison,
Council, Institute of Medicine; Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY, Liaison,
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Department of Psychology, Stanford University (emeritus)
BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
JACK P. SHONKOFF (Chair),
Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
DAVID V.B. BRITT,
Children's Television Workshop, New York
LARRY BUMPASS,
Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
SHEILA BURKE,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
DAVID CARD,
Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
KEVIN GRUMBACH,
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Primary Care Research Center, University of California, San Francisco
MAXINE HAYES,
Department of Community and Family Health, Washington State Department of Health
MARGARET HEAGARTY,
Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center, Columbia University
ALETHA C. HUSTON,
Department of Human Ecology, University of Texas, Austin
RENEE JENKINS,
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University
SHEILA KAMERMAN,
School of Social Work, Columbia University
SANDERS KORENMAN,
School of Public Affairs, Baruch College
CINDY LEDERMAN,
Circuit Court, Juvenile Justice Center, Dade County, Florida
SARA McLANAHAN,
Office of Population Research, Princeton University
VONNIE McLOYD,
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
PAUL NEWACHECK,
Institute of Health Policy Studies and Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
DEBORAH STIPEK,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles
PAUL WISE,
Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
EVAN CHARNEY, Liaison,
Council, Institute of Medicine; Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School
RUTH T. GROSS, Liaison,
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine;
Professor of Pediatrics Emerita,
Stanford University
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY, Liaison,
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Department of Psychology, Stanford University (emeritus)
MICHELE D. KIPKE, Director
DEBORAH A. PHILLIPS, Director (through July 1998)
EMILY PERKINS, Project Assistant for Communications
DRUSILLA BARNES, Administrative Associate
ELENA NIGHTINGALE, Scholar-in-Residence
WORKSHOP ON NEW RESEARCH ON THE BIOLOGY OF PUBERTY AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
Participants
MELVIN GRUMBACH (Chair),
University of California, San Francisco
DAVID A. HAMBURG,
Carnegie Corporation of New York
(President Emeritus)
HUDA AKIL,
Mental Health Research Institute, University of Michigan
ADRIAN ANGOLD,
Duke University Medical Center
CHERYL ALEXANDER,
Center for Adolescent Health, Johns Hopkins University
FRANK BIRO,
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
CLAIRE BRINDIS,
Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco
JEANNE BROOKS-GUNN,
Teachers College, Columbia University
WILLIAM DAMON,
Center on Adolescence, Stanford University
GREG DUNCAN,
Northwestern University
JACQUELYNNE ECCLES,
School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ANKE EHRHARDT,
New York State Psychiatric Institute
GLEN ELLIOTT,
University of California, San Francisco
ABIGAIL ENGLISH,
National Center for Youth Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
BARUCH FISCHHOFF,
Carnegie Mellon University
JAY GIEDD,
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
RUTH GROSS, Professor Emerita,
Stanford University
CHRIS HAYWARD,
Center on Adolescence, Stanford University
CHARLES IRWIN,
University of California, San Francisco
IRIS F. LITT,
Stanford University
ELEANOR MACCOBY,
Stanford University
ANN MASTEN,
Institute of Child Development, Minneapolis
JOHN MERROW,
The Merrow Report, New York
ANNE PETERSEN,
W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Michigan
KAREN PITTMAN,
International Youth Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland
ANNE PUSEY,
Jane Goodall Institute's Center, University of Minnesota
DAVID ROWE,
University of Arizona
STEPHEN SMALL,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
STEPHEN SUOMI,
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
ELIZABETH SUSMAN,
Pennsylvania State University
CAROL WORTHMAN,
Emory University
MICHELE D. KIPKE, Director,
Forum on Adolescence
FAITH MITCHELL, Director,
Division on Social and Economic Studies
ELENA NIGHTINGALE, Scholar-In-Residence
Preface
On March 23 and 24, 1998, the Forum on Adolescence gathered an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners to review the state of knowledge about adolescent development at a workshop entitled New Research on the Biology of Puberty and Adolescent Development. This workshop focused both on puberty—a set of physical changes rooted in biology that can be timed and measured—and on adolescence—a more general and gradual coming of age that occupies much of the second decade of life and is, as one researcher has written, ''rooted in society" (Crockett and Petersen, 1993:45). Participants represented diverse fields and brought to the workshop knowledge about an exceptionally wide range of research, including the fields of pediatric and adolescent medicine, public health, neuroendocrinology, behavioral genetics, anthropology, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, animal behavior, law, and others. Using this knowledge, participants were asked to address five key questions:
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What changes have taken place in the knowledge base of adolescent development?
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What key findings have emerged from recent studies?
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What are some of the most pressing research challenges?
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What are the policy implications of this research?
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Which messages need to be communicated in order to mobilize the public to support the development, health, and well-being of adolescents?
Drawing on participants' presentations and discussions, this workshop summary addresses each of these questions. Of necessity, it reflects the particular emphases of the workshop discussions, as well as specific statements made by participants during the workshop.
It is important to note that this workshop was an effort intended to take stock of the current knowledge base on adolescent development and highlight key findings from recent research. It was also convened to help inform the future work of a new, cross-cutting initiative of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council called the Forum on Adolescence. Given limitations of both time and scope, this workshop could not address a variety of issues that are certainly very important when considering the development, health, and well-being of adolescents. Four particular issues that were only touched on briefly during the workshop are the role of genetics and the interaction between genetic, individual, social, and environmental influences on adolescent development; the role of nutrition and dietary habits; the role of sleep to the healthy development of adolescents; and the role of socioeconomic status, family income, and poverty on adolescent development. The fact that they were not discussed should not suggest that they are not important issues, nor that they are issues undeserving of consideration.
It is also important to note that this workshop report summarizes material presented and discussed at the workshop. Although it references published materials suggested or provided by participants, it is not intended to provide a comprehensive or thorough review of the field. It is our hope that this report will help to illuminate important issues in the field of adolescent development that deserve further attention and consideration.
We offer our appreciation to all of the presenters and participants for their time and contributions. Special thanks go to the planning group—Huda Akil, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Anne Petersen, Anne Pusey, and Elizabeth Susman—who gave freely of their time to set the agenda, select participants, contribute to the meeting, and review the initial draft of the report. A special note of appreciation is due Melvin Grumbach, chair of the planning group, for his thoughtful attention and continual assistance in planning and running the workshop. Thanks are also due to Rima Shore for a distillation of the major themes that emerged from the workshop in her work on this summary report, and to Amy Gawad for her assistance in preparing the document prior to publication. Carnegie Corporation of New York provided support for this activity through its core funding of the Forum on Adolescence.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Sarah Brown, National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy, Washington, DC; Michael I. Cohen, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Elizabeth McAnarney, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center; Elena Nightingale, Scholar-in-Residence, National Research Council; Jack P. Shonkoff, Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare, Brandeis University; and Ruby Takanishi, Foundation for Child Development, New York, NY.
Although the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for this final report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
We hope this report will stimulate and encourage researchers, service providers, and policy makers to search for new ways to ensure that all adolescents grow to become healthy, happy, and productive adults.
David A. Hamburg, Chair
Michele D. Kipke, Director
Forum on Adolescence