We introduce this special issue on the individual and contextual bases of adolescent thriving by describing the relational developmental systems theory-based, positive youth development (PYD) perspective that frames much of contemporary research about health and positive development across the adolescent period and that, more specifically, frames…

Discusses contemporary theories of adolescence, stressing developmental systems models that integrate individual and contextual levels of analysis. Maintains that adolescence should be studied with multivariate-longitudinal designs, change-sensitive measures, and data analytic strategies capitalizing on triangulation across quantitative and…

Discusses trends in adolescent research during the previous six years, including theoretical/methodological orientations and substantive foci, conceptual themes, and future directions. Describes the increasing stress on both the ecology of adolescent development and on the dynamic interactions between this ecology and both intraindividual change…

Describes how applied developmental science (ADS) integrates developmental research with policies and programs promoting positive development or enhancing life chances of vulnerable children and families. Maintains that ADS contributes to social justice, promotes outreach, and serves as a model of how higher education may engage policymakers,…

To gauge the status of connections between the research literature about adolescent development and current theoretical and applied work pertinent to the concept of positive youth development (PYD), we assessed whether the adolescent development literature from 1991 to 2003 reflected a network of terms associated with PYD. A list of 16 terms…

A total of 290 early adolescent male and female white children (mean age 12 years) were subjects in a study assessing the comparability of racial attitudes as measured by two format types, differing in permitted response variation. (MS)