The Adolescent and his Family

Abstract

In many countries, at least in western societies, adolescence has often been a period of harsh conflict in family relationships. Even where comparative amity prevails, strains and tensions are often not far beneath the surface. Obviously there is no inevitability about this pattern. But its occurrence has been found to be frequent enough to cause concern among parents and educators, to say nothing of the unhappiness and the heartbreak which many adolescents themselves suffer.