Developmental Tasks in Adolescence

The topic of adolescent development in Europe is one which has received little academic attention in recent years. Developmental Tasks in Adolescence makes an exciting contribution to the field by applying socialisation theory to four major developmental tasks of life: Qualifying, Bonding, Consumption and Participation, arguing that if the tasks in these areas are mastered, then personal individuation and social integration can take place, a prerequisite for the formation of self-identity.

In highly developed societies, adolescence encompasses a period of about 15 years on average. Puberty, or the transition from childhood, starts earlier and earlier, and the transition to adulthood is increasingly postponed. Developmental Tasks in Adolescence proposes that the way in which adolescents master the tasks of everyday life has become a pattern of orientation for the life stages which follow because of the new lifestyle requirements that are typical for modern democratic societies. Today, a life full of uncertainties and ambiguities is no longer limited to adolescence, but rather continues into adulthood.

Hurrelmann and Quenzel's sociological approach is valuable reading for students and academics in psychology, sociology, education, social work and youth studies, and for those on professional training courses in these fields.

Klaus Hurrelmann is Senior Professor of Public Health and Education at Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany. He established the Interdisciplinary Research Centre Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Youth and was also co-founder of the Centre for Childhood and Youth Research in Bielefeld.

Gudrun Quenzel is Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Education in Vorarlberg. Her research focuses on youth and socialisation as well as education poverty, education inequality, and health. She serves together with Klaus Hurrelmann on the management team of the German Shell Youth Studies.