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Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth
82
Journal o f School P s y c h o l o g y
realizes that these two approaches do not have to be mutually exclusive, but that they can contribute to a more complete perception of training implications. The reader may look forward to several other volumes in the Language Intervention series. A future volume titled Developmental Language Intervention: Psycholinguistic Applications suggests a continuing discussion of the combined contributions of organismic and environmental approaches. Other future volumes will emphasize early language intervention and the selection of intervention strategies. Margaret M. Bierly Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Psychology California State University, Chico Chico, CA 95929
Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York: Academic Press, 1977. Pp. 281 + XV, $16.00. With the social turmoil of the last decade came a resurgence of social and behavioral scientists' interest in the study of youth. Particularly, efforts were made to predict "deviant" behavior in relation to other social, developmental and interpersonal factors, and to discover the interrelationship of these factors. Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal Study of Youth is the result of one of these studies. This book is a report of social-psychological studies of behavior and development in adolescents and youths. The authors have studied the interrelationship of personality, the perceived social environment and behavior. Research reported in this book involves two separate longitudinal studies which took nearly a decade, one with a sample of high school students and one with a sample of college students. The book consists of four parts: in part one the social psychological framework and the design of research is discussed; part two deals with cross-sectional findings (personality and problem behavior, perceived environment and problem behavior); in part three longitudinal findings are discussed; and part four deals with studies in socialization and conclusion. The research started in the early 1970s with two groups of high school and college students who were tested over a period of four consecutive years. Together the two studies cover the age range from early adolescence to early adult life (from 12 to 22). The investigators employed a cohort-sequential longitudinal design and they report both cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. A multivariate approach predicting "problem behavior," including drug use, sexual intercourse, drinking, active protest, etc., is used, and like most other studies dealing with prediction of problem behaviors or delinquency, prediction is based, for the most part, on an actuarial and nomothetic approach. The theoretical foundation of the book is more sociological than psychological. From the psychological point of view, the book is based on field theory and a phenomenological approach, which limits the scope of the book. Youth is studied from a sociological perspective. From this standpoint, "Much of the behavior is problematic only in relation to age, and problem proneness can often mean no more than developmental precocity. It would be an important step forward for prevention and control if problem behavior in youth came to be seen as part of dialectic growth, a visible strand in the web of time." No attempt is made to look at "problem behavior" in this stage of life from psychodynamic, psychosocial, cognitive developmental points of view. In fact, throughout the book there is no reference to Freud's, Erikson's or Piaget's theories. A good portion of findings of the research has already been published in different reports; therefore, for the readers familiar with the literature, this book offers a comprehensive review of previously reported findings. In the first appendix the authors included a list of publications which have emerged from this theoretical framework. This list provides the reader with a quick reference to the works based on this theory. In summary, this book should be helpful for behavioral scientists and educators who have been trained to view problem behaviors from a strictly psychological approach in sensitizing them to social factors, forces, and the contexts within which ,"problem behavior" occurs. M. E. Fakouri, Ph.D. Professor of Educational Psychology Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 47809
Journal o f School P s y c h o l o g y
realizes that these two approaches do not have to be mutually exclusive, but that they can contribute to a more complete perception of training implications. The reader may look forward to several other volumes in the Language Intervention series. A future volume titled Developmental Language Intervention: Psycholinguistic Applications suggests a continuing discussion of the combined contributions of organismic and environmental approaches. Other future volumes will emphasize early language intervention and the selection of intervention strategies. Margaret M. Bierly Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Psychology California State University, Chico Chico, CA 95929
Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York: Academic Press, 1977. Pp. 281 + XV, $16.00. With the social turmoil of the last decade came a resurgence of social and behavioral scientists' interest in the study of youth. Particularly, efforts were made to predict "deviant" behavior in relation to other social, developmental and interpersonal factors, and to discover the interrelationship of these factors. Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal Study of Youth is the result of one of these studies. This book is a report of social-psychological studies of behavior and development in adolescents and youths. The authors have studied the interrelationship of personality, the perceived social environment and behavior. Research reported in this book involves two separate longitudinal studies which took nearly a decade, one with a sample of high school students and one with a sample of college students. The book consists of four parts: in part one the social psychological framework and the design of research is discussed; part two deals with cross-sectional findings (personality and problem behavior, perceived environment and problem behavior); in part three longitudinal findings are discussed; and part four deals with studies in socialization and conclusion. The research started in the early 1970s with two groups of high school and college students who were tested over a period of four consecutive years. Together the two studies cover the age range from early adolescence to early adult life (from 12 to 22). The investigators employed a cohort-sequential longitudinal design and they report both cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. A multivariate approach predicting "problem behavior," including drug use, sexual intercourse, drinking, active protest, etc., is used, and like most other studies dealing with prediction of problem behaviors or delinquency, prediction is based, for the most part, on an actuarial and nomothetic approach. The theoretical foundation of the book is more sociological than psychological. From the psychological point of view, the book is based on field theory and a phenomenological approach, which limits the scope of the book. Youth is studied from a sociological perspective. From this standpoint, "Much of the behavior is problematic only in relation to age, and problem proneness can often mean no more than developmental precocity. It would be an important step forward for prevention and control if problem behavior in youth came to be seen as part of dialectic growth, a visible strand in the web of time." No attempt is made to look at "problem behavior" in this stage of life from psychodynamic, psychosocial, cognitive developmental points of view. In fact, throughout the book there is no reference to Freud's, Erikson's or Piaget's theories. A good portion of findings of the research has already been published in different reports; therefore, for the readers familiar with the literature, this book offers a comprehensive review of previously reported findings. In the first appendix the authors included a list of publications which have emerged from this theoretical framework. This list provides the reader with a quick reference to the works based on this theory. In summary, this book should be helpful for behavioral scientists and educators who have been trained to view problem behaviors from a strictly psychological approach in sensitizing them to social factors, forces, and the contexts within which ,"problem behavior" occurs. M. E. Fakouri, Ph.D. Professor of Educational Psychology Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 47809