1st Edition
Adolescent Health and Well-Being Meeting Challenges Old and New
This important book explores adolescent health and well-being through an ecological and developmental lens, drawing on international comparative studies and data sources to provide valuable contextual insights.
Recognising that children and adolescents are not a homogenous group, this book highlights the importance of age distinctions in shaping health needs, risks, and protective behaviours. Adolescent development, the epidemiology and social determinants of adolescent health, health literacy and health promotion are foundational themes woven throughout the chapters. It explores how gender influences both health behaviors and outcomes, emphasising the need for a nuanced understanding of adolescent well-being. By presenting data comparisons across time and socio-demographic groups, this book sheds light on disparities related to gender, ethnicity (including Black and minority ethnic and Indigenous populations), age, geography, and socioeconomic status, offering valuable insights into the diverse factors that shape adolescent health.
This textbook is intended for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, advocates, youth workers, adolescents and their parents and carers.
Foreword: Professor Susan M Sawyer
Preface: Melissa Kang, Imelda Coyne, Nicola J Gray
Chapter 1. The Patterning of Adolescent Health
Fiona Brooks, Nicola J Gray
Chapter 2.Theorising Adolescent Development and Health
Melissa Kang
Chapter 3. Health Risks – Old and Emerging
Nicola J Gray
Chapter 4. Positive Health Behaviours and Protective Factors
Nicola J Gray
Chapter 5. Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being
Melissa Kang
Chapter 6. Sexuality, Sexual and Reproductive Health
Melissa Kang
Chapter 7. Promoting Adolescents’ Health and Wellbeing
Imelda Coyne
Chapter 8. Adolescents with Chronic Conditions and Disability
Imelda Coyne
Chapter 9. Adolescents’ Access to Healthcare Services
Imelda Coyne
Chapter 10. New Directions for Adolescent Health
Melissa Kang, Imelda Coyne, Nicola J Gray
Biography
Melissa Kang is Professor of Adolescent Health and Co-head of the General Practice Clinical School in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney.
Imelda Coyne is Professor in Children’s Nursing and Director of the Trinity Research in Childhood Centre at Trinity College Dublin.
Nicola J. Gray is Reader in Medicines and Health, Co-chair of the UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’, and Researcher within the WHO CC for ‘Research in Education and Health’ at the Universities of Huddersfield, England, and Clermont Auvergne, France.
"This new volume brings a hugely welcome focus on young people’s health through the lens of young people's strengths, rather than framing them (and their life stage) as a problem. The authors present an authoritative, timely and nuanced understanding of adolescent health in a changed world. The book presents a roadmap for improving the offer to young people and thereby improving their health. The final chapter makes the critical point that in order for adolescents to flourish we need to move past just seeing them as problems in transition, to important contributors to society. Supporting them to thrive is essential to us all."
--Dr Ann Hagell, Independent Consultant in Youth Health, UK“Beyond recognizing the life-course opportunities inherent in adolescence, this book articulates the value of supporting adolescents to give voice to their passions and shape their own lives. It appreciates the importance of families and communities as they continue to protect adolescents, while concurrently empowering and supporting them as they expand their horizons.”
--Professor Susan M Sawyer, AM MD MBBS FRACP, Director, Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
