Research into Adolescence: A Forgotten Era

Research into developmental psychology in Australia has followed a pattern which is similar to that of other countries by concentrating first on the child, then on life span development and more recently on gerontology. Adolescence has been the neglected area of developmental research. An examination of the early work of Granville Stanley Hall (1904) and Sigmund Freud (1917, 1925) together with an analysis of classical and modem theories of adolescence sheds some light on the reasons for this neglect Population statistics and projected figures for the next 25 years are used to support the need for research into adolescence. Some areas of research associated with the adolescents' self‐concept and the psychobiology of adolescence as well as peer, home and community relationships are discussed. It was concluded that research into this special period of life was urgently needed in Australia. 1991 Australian Psychological Society