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Adolescence in Context
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Adolescence in Context

Second Edition
August 2025 | 400 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Adolescence in Context by award-winning author Tara L. Kuther is a topically oriented text that connects learners to the science shaping our understanding of today’s teenagers and young adults. Organized around three core themes—the centrality of context, the importance of research, and the applied value of developmental science—the text presents classic and current research, along with foundational theories, framed in real-life intersectional contexts such as sex, gender, race, ethnicity, ability, and socioeconomic status. With the new Second Edition, students can expect to gain a deeper understanding of adolescence that they can apply to their personal lives and future careers.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgements
 
About The Author
 
Chapter 1: Introduction to Adolescent Development
What Is Adolescence?

 
Adolescence: Its Origins and Today

 
Adolescent Development: Processes, Tasks, and Contexts of Development

 
Sociohistorical Context and Adolescent Development

 
Biology-Context Interactions And Adolescent Development

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 2: Theories and Research in Adolescent Development
Core Concepts and Questions About Adolescent Development

 
Foundational Theories: Psychoanalytic and Behaviorist Theories

 
Cognitive Theories

 
Systems Theories

 
The Science Of Adolescent Development

 
Research Ethics and Applied Developmental Science

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 3: Biological Development
Puberty

 
Biological and Contextual Influences on Pubertal Timing

 
Psychological and Social Effects of Puberty

 
Health in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 4: Cognitive Development
Brain Development in Adolescence

 
Constructivist Approaches

 
Information Processing Theory

 
Individual Differences in Intelligence

 
Social Cognition

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 5: Self and Identity
Self-Concept and Self-Esteem

 
Emotional Development and Personality in Adolescence

 
Identity

 
Ethnic-Racial Identity

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 6: Gender
Gender Terminology, Gender Stereotypes, and Gender Differences

 
Influences on Gender Typing

 
Developmental Timeline of Gender Typing and Gender Identity

 
Transgender and Gender Diverse Identities in Adolescence

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 7: Sexuality
Sexual Activity During Adolescence

 
LGBTQ+ Adolescents

 
Risky Sexual Activity and Problems

 
Sexuality Education

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 8: Morality, Religion, and Values
Moral Reasoning

 
Modern Theories of Moral Development

 
Prosocial Development

 
Religion and Religiosity

 
Civic Development and Engagement

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 9: Family Context
The Family System

 
Parent-Adolescent Relationships

 
Parenting Styles

 
Families and Family Transitions

 
Adolescents and Families at Risk

 
Chapter Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 10: Peers
Friendship

 
Peer Group

 
Peer Influence

 
Dating and Romantic Relationships

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 11: School and Work Contexts
Achievement Motivation

 
School Transitions and Academic Achievement

 
Adolescents With NEURODEVELOPMENTAL CONDITIONS

 
Adolescent Work and Education

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 12: Media and Online Contexts
Understanding Adolescents’ Use of Screen Media

 
Exposure to Screen Violence, Sex, and Substance Use

 
Problematic Media Use

 
Social Media and Adolescent Development

 
Media Literacy and Media Policy

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 13: Socioemotional and Behavioral Problems During Adolescence
Problems, Risk, and Resilience

 
Anxiety Disorders and Eating Disorders

 
Depression, Suicide, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

 
Alcohol and Substance Use

 
Externalizing Behavior and Delinquency

 
Positive Youth Development

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
 
Glossary

I recently switched to this textbook and have truly enjoyed using it in my Families and Adolescents undergraduate course! This textbook is accessible, visually engaging, and provides a comprehensive and empirically grounded exploration of adolescence, covering developmental changes, diverse perspectives, practical implications, and integration of research findings, making it an invaluable resource for family scientists seeking to understand the complexities of adolescent development in any context.

Mya Rome
University of Southern Mississippi

Kuther offers a comprehensive overview of the adolescent experience. A variety of dimensions are covered, from biological to socialemotional to cultural, influences on developments. There are relevant topics covered serving as a springboard for class discussions. 

Maria Cuddy-Casey
Immaculata University
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • The new edition is available in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.
    • Flashcards and note-taking tools help students better prepare for class.
    • NEW! Audiobook Player allows students to listen to text content, boosting comprehension and retention. It offers flexible, on-the-go access, engaging both reluctant readers and auditory learners, improving the overall reading experience.
    • The Offline Reading option in the Student Dashboard offers greater accessibility to Vantage’s reading content, regardless of where students are or how strong their internet connection may be.
  • The Second Edition expands its focus on the role of context in adolescent development, integrating current research with classic studies. 1,600 new references published since 2020 have been added, including about 450 published from 2023-2025.
  • A new Chapter 2 on theory and research in adolescent development summarizes foundational theories and introduces students to research methods and ethics in developmental science.
  • A new section of Chapter 1 defines intersectionality and highlights its value for understanding development.
  • Key topics are examined with an intersectional lens throughout the text, including:
    • Physical and mental health: Socioeconomic influences, such as food insecurity and exposure to stress, on adolescent growth and pubertal timing.
    • Cognitive development: Diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disabilities, individual differences in intelligence scores, and gene-IQ correlations.
    • Socioemotional development: An expanded discussion of self-concept, self-esteem, and identity.
    • Transgender and gender diverse identities: Chapter 6 provides a deeper examination of gender diversity from childhood into adolescence and discusses gender-affirming care, developmental transitions, risks, and supports for LGBTQ+ youth.
    • Diverse family formations: The text explores one-parent, cohabitating, adoptive, and foster families, as well as the effects of different family experiences, such as parental incarceration, deployment, and immigration.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Lives in Context video cases through the Sage Vantage digital option of the text build on the contextual examples that the author includes in the text, looking at the ways in which biological, cultural, community, family, racial / ethnic, and socioeconomic factors influence development. The videos include interviews, and observational studies that show children performing tasks at various stages of development.
  • Dr. Kuther's Chalk Talks, a series of whiteboard-style animated videos through the Sage Vantage digital option, bring basic concepts in development to life.
  • Learning pedagogy drawn from The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) helps students master concepts and remedy gaps in understanding.
    • Review items assess the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: recalling and explaining concepts.
    • Thinking in Context items ask students to consider the role of context in the topic as well as reflect on their experience; these are organized to assess the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: apply, analyze, and evaluate.
    • Apply items typically provide a short scenario involving adolescents and ask readers to provide insight and solve a problem.
  • Embedded intersectional influences coverage examines the ways in which constructs of race, gender, socioeconomic level, and other variables interact and influence development.
  • Chapter-opening learning objectives, end-of-chapter summaries, and end-of-chapter review questions that return to learning objectives recap the key concepts presented in the chapter.

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