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Teenage fathers
BOOK REVIEWS
4’7
in Chapter 2, the authors rarely attempt to relate their findings to the larger body of work on adolescents. Chapter 5 is brief and speculative. In it, the authors argue for three conclusions: (a) Adolescents around the world will share information from their private perspectives about development; (b) Personality can be probed cross-nationally using a questionnaire methodology; and (c) The adolescent experience is now so homogeneous that the teenage world is a virtual “global village”. Given the real problems that the study’s methodology entails, and the interesting cross-national differences this methodology revealed, these three conclusions should be read with caution. A two-page commentary by Harry Triandis is included at the end of the data presentation that lists some of the reasons for such caution, and should not be overlooked by the book’s readers. The Teenage World is a useful contribution to the literature on adolescent conflict, and the massive data collection effort of these authors and their international collaborators should be applauded. Read with appropriate caution, the book offers significant new nuances to the interpretation of the adolescent experience. REFERENCES Offer, D. (1969). The psychological world of the teenager: A study of normal adolescent boys. New York: Basic Books. Offer, D. and Offer, J. B. (1975). From teenage toyoungmanhood: Apsychologicalstudy. New York: Basic Books. Offer, D., Ostrov, E. and Howard, K. I. (1981). The Adolescent: A psychological selfportrait. New York: Basic Books. J. R. Hopkins
Teenage Fathers. B. Robinson. Lexington, $25.00 (hardback), $14.95 (paperback).
MA: Lexington Books, 1988. pp. 173.
This volume presents an overview of the problem of teenage fatherhood in our society and explores myths and realities regarding teenage fathers. There is a discussion of how evolving perspectives of teenage fathers have influenced research and writing in this area. The nature and consequences of teenage fatherhood, psychological adjustment of teen fathers, and pragmatic information on breaking the teenage fatherhood cycle are discussed. The chapter on studying teenage fathers is particularly well done. It highlights concerns regarding past research and offers methodological suggestions for improving future research efforts. Other contents included in the book are case studies of adult men who were teenage fathers, suggestions for practitioners, model intervention programs, and listings of a variety of resources related to services for teenage fathers. Robinson seems to be saying that teenage fathers have many problems; that these fathers have been misunderstood and under-addressed in the past; that most teenage fathers desire to be supportive of their mates and their offspring; and that they need to be assisted in their efforts toward responsible personhood and fatherhood. Toward this end, the author provides relevant information and suggests improvement in
4’8
BOOK
REVIEWS
research as well as the use of ecologically-based guides for assessing and addressing the problems of these fathers. The author states that he viewed his work as a handbook that addresses the questions and concerns of health professionals, counselors, caseworkers, educational administrators, teachers, psychologists, and students regarding teenage fathers. The book will, indeed, prove valuable to the audiences mentioned, and to others including ministers, parents of teenage fathers, and directly to the teenage fathers themselves. I applaud the book. Considering its length (173 pages), it contains much substance. Its comprehensiveness, directness, clarity, and utility will ensure for it a special place in the literature on teenage fathers. 0. E. Westney Early Adolescent Transitions. M. D. Levine Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988. E27.00.
and E.
R.
McAnarney
(Eds).
This book is a collection of some of the presentations given at a multidisciplinary symposium on early adolescent transitions held in Charleston, South Carolina, in October 1986. As indicated in the Preface, the contributors come from a variety of backgrounds, including psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and public health, and from academic as well as private practice and research or government agencies. Thus, there is considerable diversity in the way the authors approach topics, the issues they address, and the style of their writing, which makes for an interesting collection of information and views. It also makes the book appealing to different consumers. Researchers would find several of the chapters very up to date in terms of current findings and directions for future research. Educators, therapists, and policy makers would find not only current summaries for themselves or for graduate students, but also in many cases, practical application for therapeutic or even policy intervention. While not all the chapters may be of equal interest, I would view this book as required reading for any professional interested in the transition to adolescence. The book includes reviews of the following topics: temperament, poverty, divorce and remarriage, maternal employment, pubertal development and timing, sexuality, motherhood, sexually transmitted diseases, delivery of health services, disabilities, underachievement, linguistic competence, reading disorders, antisocial behavior, and psychopathology. The chapters are uneven in the thoroughness of the literature review and in the practical applications presented. For example, the chapter on variation in females’ maturational timing is very thorough in reviewing the related literature, while the chapter on maternal employment identifies some of the current themes using historical studies combined with two current projects, while ignoring most of the family literature conducted on this topic during the past two decades. Yet the chapters cannot be comprehensive and broad on all topics, and outline comprehensive applications at the same time. The book is very good at summarizing some current theoretical issues and many empirical findings on a topic, and adding in many cases a practical section either pertaining to education, therapy, or public policy, Even without the practical ideas elucidated, the book provides in one place a clear summary of many key issues surrounding the many transitions of early adolescence, and typically how these changes occur as transitions.
4’7
in Chapter 2, the authors rarely attempt to relate their findings to the larger body of work on adolescents. Chapter 5 is brief and speculative. In it, the authors argue for three conclusions: (a) Adolescents around the world will share information from their private perspectives about development; (b) Personality can be probed cross-nationally using a questionnaire methodology; and (c) The adolescent experience is now so homogeneous that the teenage world is a virtual “global village”. Given the real problems that the study’s methodology entails, and the interesting cross-national differences this methodology revealed, these three conclusions should be read with caution. A two-page commentary by Harry Triandis is included at the end of the data presentation that lists some of the reasons for such caution, and should not be overlooked by the book’s readers. The Teenage World is a useful contribution to the literature on adolescent conflict, and the massive data collection effort of these authors and their international collaborators should be applauded. Read with appropriate caution, the book offers significant new nuances to the interpretation of the adolescent experience. REFERENCES Offer, D. (1969). The psychological world of the teenager: A study of normal adolescent boys. New York: Basic Books. Offer, D. and Offer, J. B. (1975). From teenage toyoungmanhood: Apsychologicalstudy. New York: Basic Books. Offer, D., Ostrov, E. and Howard, K. I. (1981). The Adolescent: A psychological selfportrait. New York: Basic Books. J. R. Hopkins
Teenage Fathers. B. Robinson. Lexington, $25.00 (hardback), $14.95 (paperback).
MA: Lexington Books, 1988. pp. 173.
This volume presents an overview of the problem of teenage fatherhood in our society and explores myths and realities regarding teenage fathers. There is a discussion of how evolving perspectives of teenage fathers have influenced research and writing in this area. The nature and consequences of teenage fatherhood, psychological adjustment of teen fathers, and pragmatic information on breaking the teenage fatherhood cycle are discussed. The chapter on studying teenage fathers is particularly well done. It highlights concerns regarding past research and offers methodological suggestions for improving future research efforts. Other contents included in the book are case studies of adult men who were teenage fathers, suggestions for practitioners, model intervention programs, and listings of a variety of resources related to services for teenage fathers. Robinson seems to be saying that teenage fathers have many problems; that these fathers have been misunderstood and under-addressed in the past; that most teenage fathers desire to be supportive of their mates and their offspring; and that they need to be assisted in their efforts toward responsible personhood and fatherhood. Toward this end, the author provides relevant information and suggests improvement in
4’8
BOOK
REVIEWS
research as well as the use of ecologically-based guides for assessing and addressing the problems of these fathers. The author states that he viewed his work as a handbook that addresses the questions and concerns of health professionals, counselors, caseworkers, educational administrators, teachers, psychologists, and students regarding teenage fathers. The book will, indeed, prove valuable to the audiences mentioned, and to others including ministers, parents of teenage fathers, and directly to the teenage fathers themselves. I applaud the book. Considering its length (173 pages), it contains much substance. Its comprehensiveness, directness, clarity, and utility will ensure for it a special place in the literature on teenage fathers. 0. E. Westney Early Adolescent Transitions. M. D. Levine Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988. E27.00.
and E.
R.
McAnarney
(Eds).
This book is a collection of some of the presentations given at a multidisciplinary symposium on early adolescent transitions held in Charleston, South Carolina, in October 1986. As indicated in the Preface, the contributors come from a variety of backgrounds, including psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and public health, and from academic as well as private practice and research or government agencies. Thus, there is considerable diversity in the way the authors approach topics, the issues they address, and the style of their writing, which makes for an interesting collection of information and views. It also makes the book appealing to different consumers. Researchers would find several of the chapters very up to date in terms of current findings and directions for future research. Educators, therapists, and policy makers would find not only current summaries for themselves or for graduate students, but also in many cases, practical application for therapeutic or even policy intervention. While not all the chapters may be of equal interest, I would view this book as required reading for any professional interested in the transition to adolescence. The book includes reviews of the following topics: temperament, poverty, divorce and remarriage, maternal employment, pubertal development and timing, sexuality, motherhood, sexually transmitted diseases, delivery of health services, disabilities, underachievement, linguistic competence, reading disorders, antisocial behavior, and psychopathology. The chapters are uneven in the thoroughness of the literature review and in the practical applications presented. For example, the chapter on variation in females’ maturational timing is very thorough in reviewing the related literature, while the chapter on maternal employment identifies some of the current themes using historical studies combined with two current projects, while ignoring most of the family literature conducted on this topic during the past two decades. Yet the chapters cannot be comprehensive and broad on all topics, and outline comprehensive applications at the same time. The book is very good at summarizing some current theoretical issues and many empirical findings on a topic, and adding in many cases a practical section either pertaining to education, therapy, or public policy, Even without the practical ideas elucidated, the book provides in one place a clear summary of many key issues surrounding the many transitions of early adolescence, and typically how these changes occur as transitions.