All About Adolesence
Publication Date: 10th June 2026
Publisher: Routledge.
All About Adolescence provides a comprehensive and current introduction to all key aspects of adolescent development. Building on the success of The Nature of Adolescence, this book addresses the unprecedented changes affecting young people’s lives, including the social media explosion, AI emergence, pandemic impacts, and growing climate emergency awareness. It covers critical contemporary topics including advances in neuroscience and brain development research, evolving discourses around racial and gender identity, mental health and well-being concerns, and the lasting effects of Covid-19 on adolescent development.
What sets this book apart is the authentic voice of young people themselves. Interviews with individuals aged 14-18 from diverse backgrounds are woven throughout all eleven chapters, providing vivid, real-world insights into what it means to be an adolescent in today’s world. The book emphasizes a positive perspective on adolescence while developing the innovative STAGE theoretical framework, examining how young people actively construct their own developmental pathways through this crucial life transition. From brain development and identity formation to peer relationships and resilience strategies, each chapter combines cutting-edge research with genuine adolescent perspectives.
This authoritative text is essential for anyone studying human development at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as professionals including teachers, social workers, health workers, counsellors, and youth workers seeking to understand and support young people navigating this complex and formative period.
Endorsements
“Coleman grounds scientific findings in real-world experience. This is an essential text for anyone wanting to understand and support today’s adolescents.”
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, FRS. Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK
“John Coleman has written a uniquely informative, balanced and readable text. This book will be welcomed by students, researchers, practitioners, parents, and all who have an interest in this important phase of life.”
Professor Ingrid Lunt, Professor of Education, University of Oxford, UK
“Drawing on decades as a pioneering voice in adolescent development, Coleman once again brings the needs, challenges, and perspectives of young people to the forefront. An essential book for all who work with young people in the health field.”
Professor Dougal Hargreaves, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Imperial College, London, UK
“A terrifically insightful book. Too often adolescence is misunderstood and misrepresented – like adolescents themselves. This book, rich with theory and research yet highly accessible, is a superb counter to this. An outstanding book for anyone working with young people.”
Dez Holmes, MBE. Chief Executive of Research in Practice, UK
“From one of the giants of the field, John Coleman’s All About Adolescence is an outstanding contribution to a better understanding of this important phase in human development.”
Professor Patrick Alexander, Professor of Education, Oxford Brookes University, UK
“This important book is a must read for anyone working with adolescents – or living with them.”
Professor Lord Layard, Co-Director of the Community Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics, UK
“This authoritative text is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand adolescent development, and to identify effective ways of supporting young people as they navigate this complex and formative period.”
Professor Amanda Holt, Professor of Criminology, University of Roehampton, UK
Please note: Using the following link will take you to a directory detailing all Dr John Coleman’s books listed with Routledge. Find the book from there and the discount code will be applied at checkout.
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John Coleman
John Coleman is a psychologist with a long-standing interest in adolescence. He has had many different roles in his career, including running a therapeutic community for troubled teenagers, acting as Director of a research centre, advising Government as a civil servant, and holding various academic posts. Most recently he was a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Education, University of Oxford (2006-2015). His interests include parenting, the digital world, the teenage brain and young people’s health. He has written a number of books on the teenage years, and has an international reputation for his work on adolescence. In 2001 he was awarded the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his work on youth.