This book is written in an effort to establish some of the normal characteristics of today's teen-ager. It represents a study of 73 adolescent boys over a four-year period covering the high-school years. The sample is drawn from two suburban, middle-class schools.
The book is divided into four parts. Part I describes the author's intent and procedure. The author mentions the many confusing usages of the term ``normal'' and the frequent assumptions made about the ``normal'' adolescent, based on data gathered from patient populations. In this study, the author prescreened his sample by using a self-perception questionaire and also eliminated any youngsters having obvious difficulties in the school. From this he drew his model population of 73 subjects. These were then evaluated by various methods, including the self-image questionnaire already mentioned, psychological tests, parent interviews, teachers' ratings, and six clinical interviews with each