Adolescents seem to be governed by paradoxes: they are simultaneously dependant and autonomous, individualistic yet fascinated by groups, peremptory but prone to doubts. How can we categorise their many facets? How can we help them to go through this crucial period of their lives, which now often extends from the age of 10 or 12 to as late as 30, as painlessly as possible? The authors, who are both practising psychiatrists, analyse changing patterns in adolescent behaviour over the past twenty years. Their study includes every aspect of the upheavals of adolescence: physiological changes, psychological uncertainty, family relations, and social and emotional life. How can parents avoid abusing their position of authority, without becoming too chummy? When should adolescent expressions of anxiety and depression warrant serious concern? What is a "problem adolescent"? What should be done in response to the dangers of drugs and of AIDS? The Many Facets of Adolescence addresses all of these questions; the answers provided will help adults who are responsible for adolescents to help them in their passage from childhood to adulthood. First published by Editions Universitaires in 1988, The Many Facets of Adolescence has rapidly became a classic. It has been completely revised for the present edition, in particular the epidemiological data and the sections concerning adolescent depression and the relations between adolescents and their family.

Alain Braconnier is a psychiatrist and director of the Centre Alfred Binet in Paris; he also teaches at the University of Paris-V. He is the author of The Gender of Emotions (1996, and "Opus," 1998), and, with Éric Albert, of Its All in the Head (1992, and "Opus," 1997).

Daniel Marcelli is a psychiatrist specialising in childhood and adolescence.