Full Description
This third and final volume of Richard Jessor's collected works explores the central role of the social context in the formulation and application of Problem Behavior Theory. It discusses the effect of the social environment, especially the social context of disadvantage and limited opportunity, on adolescent behavior, health, and development. The book examines the application of the theory in social contexts as diverse as the inner cities of the United States; the slums of Nairobi, Kenya; and the urban settings of Beijing, China. It also provides insight into how adolescents and young adults manage to "succeed", despite disadvantage, limited opportunity, and even dangers in their everyday life settings. It illuminates how these youth manage to stay on track in school, avoid unintended pregnancy and dropout, keep clear of the criminal justice system, and remain uninvolved in heavy drug use. In addition, the book discusses the conceptual and methodological issues entailed in engaging the social context, including the role of subjectivity and meaning in an objective behavioral science; the contribution of the perceived environment in determining behavior; the continuity that characterizes adolescent growth and development; the necessity for a social-psychological level of analysis that avoids reductionism; the importance of a framework that engages the larger social environment; and the advantage of adhering to systematic theory for the explanatory generality it yields.
Topics featured in this volume include:
Home-leaving and its occurrence among youth in impoverished circumstances.
The continuity of adolescent developmental change.
The impact of neighborhood disadvantage on successful adolescent development.
Successful adolescence in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.
Explaining both behavior and development in the language of social psychology.
Problem Behavior Theory and the Social Context is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, and related professionals as well as graduate students in sociology, social and developmental psychology, criminology/criminal justice, public health, and allied disciplines.
Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction to the Volume.- Section 1: Problem Behavior Theory and the Social Context of Disadvantage.- Chapter 2. "Making It" Among At-Risk Youth: The Role of the Social Context.- Chapter 3. Problem Behavior Theory and Success Despite Disadvantage.- Chapter 4. Social Context Protection and Risk in Adolescent Behavior and Development.- Chapter 5. Neighborhood Variation and Successful Adolescent Development.- Chapter 6. Problem Behavior Theory and Adolescent Problem Behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa.- Chapter 7. Successful Adolescence in the Slums of Narirobi, Kenya.- Chapter 8. Problem Behavior Theory and the Transition to Adulthood in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya.- Section 2: Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Engaging the Social Context.- Chapter 9. The Perceived Environment as Social Context.- Chapter 10. The Perceived Environment and the Psychological Situation.- Chapter 11. Engaging Subjectivity in Understanding Individual Differences.- Chapter 12. Explaining Behavior and Development in the Language of Psychology.- Chapter 13. The Perceived Environment in Personality Variation.- Chapter 14. Continuity in Psychosocial Change from Adolescence to Young Adulthood.- Chapter 15. Restoring Context and Meaning in Social Inquiry: The Reach of Qualitative Methods.- Chapter 16. The Transdisciplinary Nature of Contemporary Behavioral Science.- Chapter 17. The Cross-National Generality of Theoretical Explanation.
