Of the 1.2 billion adolescents in the world today, 90% live in low- and middle-income countries. These adolescents face many challenges in their lives. Enrollment in secondary schools is still low in many parts of the world, with illiteracy rates approaching 30% in the least developed countries. Further, adolescents not in school are more vulnerable to trafficking, recruitment into armed conflict, and child labor. Many adolescent girls marry and begin bearing children at a young age, contributing to the perpetuation of poverty and health problems.Despite these many challenges, adolescents also represent a resource to be cultivated through educational opportunities and vocational training to move them toward economic independence, through initiatives to improve their reproductive health, and through positive interpersonal relationships to help them avoid risky behaviors and make positive decisions about their futures.Edited by Jennifer E. Lansford and Prerna Banati, the Handbook of Adolescent Development Research and its Impact on Global Policy tackles both the challenges and the promise of adolescence by presenting cutting-edge research on social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and physical development. In addition to providing actionable strategies for policy-makers and practitioners, this volume consciously adopts a positive framing of adolescence, representing young people as opportunities, rather than threats. Throughout the book, readers will find a valuable investment at the individual and societal levels as a way to contribute to a positive shift in the public discourse around young people today.

1. Introduction: Adolescence in a Global ContextPrerna Banati and Jennifer E. LansfordSection 1: Domains of Adolescent Development2. Health and Wellbeing in Adolescence: A Dynamic ProfileSusan M. Sawyer and George C. Patton3. Neurocognitive Development During AdolescenceNikki C. Lee, Miriam Hollarek, and Lydia Krabbendam4. Studying Positive Youth Development in Different Nations: Theoretical and Methodological IssuesRichard M. Lerner, Jacqueline V. Lerner, G. John Geldhof, Steinunn Gestsd?ttir, Pamela Ebstyne King, Alistair T R Sim, Milena Batanova, Jonathan M. Tirrell, and Elizabeth Dowling5. Adolescent Civic Engagement in Contemporary Political and Technological RealitiesColette DaiuteSection 2: Social Relationships6. Parent-Adolescent Relationships in Global PerspectiveMarc H. Bornstein and Diane L. Putnick7. Peer RelationshipsDoran C. French and Hoi Shan Cheung8. The Contribution of Nonfamily Adults to Adolescent Well-Being: A Global Research and Policy PerspectivePeter C. Scales and Eugene C. RoehlkepartainSection 3: Risks and Opportunities9. How to End Child Marriage Around the World: Strategies, Progress and Action NeededLakshmi Sundaram, Ellen Travers, and Matilda Branson10. Adolescents and Armed Conflict: War, Conflict, and Child SoldiersTheresa S. Betancourt, Stephanie Zuilkowski, Emily Coles, Katharine Collet, and Musu Jambai11. Immigrant and Refugee Youth Positive Adaptation and DevelopmentFrosso Motti-Stefanidi12. Push-out, Pull-out, or Opting-out? Reasons Cited by Adolescents for Discontinuing Education in Four Low and Middle Income CountriesRenu Singh and Protap Mukherjee13. Poverty, Risk and Resilience: The Case of Street-Involved YouthSilvia H. Koller, Juliana Prates Santana, and Marcela Raffaelli14. Parent-Based Models of Adolescent Substance Use: A Global PerspectiveAndrea M. Hussong and Ruth K. SmithSection 4: Interventions and Policies15. Making Strategic Investments in Adolescent WellbeingElena Camilletti and Prerna Banati16. Social Protection, Adolescent Well-Being, and Development in Low-and Middle-Income CountriesSuman Verma17. Mental Health Challenges and Interventions for Adolescents: The First 1,000 WeeksLorraine Sherr18. Teens in Public Spaces and Natural Landscapes: Issues of Access and DesignSara Brunelle, Mariana Brussoni, Susan Herrington, M. Kyle Matsuba, and Michael W. Pratt19. HIV Prevention Among Adolescents: What Have We Learned and Where are We?Audrey Pettifor and Hamsa SubramaniamSection 5: Empowerment of Adolescents20. Adolescent Development and Capacity BuildingEsther F. Akinsola and Anne C. Petersen21. Gender Equity and the SDGs: Collective Impact for ChangeElizabeth Dettori and Geeta Rao Gupta22. Young People's Participation in Program Design Research, Monitoring, and EvaluationPamela Wridt23. Conclusions: Adolescent Development Research and Its Impact on Global PolicyJennifer E. Lansford and Prerna Banati