Learning to Cope: Developing as a Person in Complex Societies. - Review - book review

Adolescence, Winter, 2000

FRYDENBERG, Erica (Ed.). Learning to Cope: Developing as a Person in Complex Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. 360pp. $75.00 (h).

Violence, war, divorce, drugs, and media pressures comprise everyday reality for many young people growing up in the last years of the millennium. Life in modern society frequently means that young people find themselves in stressful situations in which they have to make difficult decisions: Which parent should I live with? How do I deal with my dependency on appetite depressants? Should I sleep with my boy friend? Who should I tell that I'm pregnant? Do I want to leave school? Much has been written about adult coping strategies, but relatively little about the development of coping skills in children and adolescents. This volume rectifies that situation, bringing together an international group of experts to discuss the ways in which young people learn to cope in the three main contexts of their lives--family, school, and community. As well as providing a much needed theoretical framework for work in this area, practical applications and programs are evaluated, providing invaluable guidance to what works and what does not.