Families with Adolescents - Bridging the Gaps Between Theory, Research, and Practice

Despite their flocking to social networking sites in unprecedented numbers, research confirms that adolescents continue to be influenced primarily by their families rather than their peers and other social contexts. Consequently, the family unit remains a vital setting for understanding and intervening with youth. Synthesizing important findings from the literature on family science and such related fields as psychology, sociology, social work, and public health, Families with Adolescents focuses a unique panoramic lens on the study of adolescent development.
This concise volume offers a clear blueprint for more consistently improved practice, emphasizing family process and structure instead of individual developmental stages. Its chapters deftly summarize the recent knowledge base across the mental health and social services disciplines, illustrating family concerns and theoretical perspectives coupled with real-world vignettes and making cogent use of family assessment measures.
Featured topics include:

• Central concepts of family development, family systems, ecological, attachment, and social learning theories in relation to families with adolescents.
• Impact of the family on adolescent behavior, education, and mental health outcomes.
• Selected studies on parenting behaviors, conflict resolution, and other major aspects of families with adolescents.
• Application topics in family-based intervention and prevention programs.
• Integrating theory, research, and applications to create a 'triple threat' model.

Families with Adolescents is an essential resource for researchers and graduate students as well as mental health therapists in clinical child and developmental psychology, family studies, human development, sociology, social work, and education.


Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D., is Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University, and Lead Director of the OSU Center for Family Research. During the past 20 years at Ohio State, Dr. Gavazzi has established a research program that identifies the impact of family dynamics on youth development, psychopathology, and problem behavior. This work has been supported by more than $4 million in grants from a wide variety of federal, state, and private sources. He also is a trained Family Therapist, thus bringing an applied clinical perspective to his work. Dr. Gavazzi has been involved in the development and evaluation of a number of family-based programming efforts, including a multifamily psychoeducational group for families containing children with mood disorders, as well as a strength-based program for families who have adolescents involved in some aspect of the juvenile court. Most recently, he has been involved in the development of the Global Risk Assessment Device, a web-based instrument designed to generate information that assists professionals in making appropriate service referrals for at-risk youth and their families.