Theories of adolescence

Though the first edition of Theories of Adolescence was published by Random House a quarter of a century ago, the need for the continuous revisions of the book demonstrated both the importance of theories in understanding psychological phenomena and the ever changing nature of the field. Not only are new theories continuously emerging, but the nature of those theories of development has changed as well. Because few new macro-theories such as Freud's, Erikson's, and Piaget's have recently been proposed, one may be inclined to think that the era of global theories is part of history. However, as closer look reveals that numerous micro-theories have emerged, theories that focus on a more narrowly defined specific dimension of adolescent development, theories often intensively researched. The current edition of Theories of Adolescence reflects these developments.