Abstract
Early adolescence is one of the most sensitive periods in the life
cycle. It is a transitional period during which young adolescents ex
perience physical changes (Paikoff and Brooks-Gunn, 1990), new
feelings and perspectives about their sense of self and relationships
(Archer, 1982), and significant shifts in socially ascribed roles (Dun
ham, Kidwell, and Wilson, 1986). The “developmental reorganiza
tion” (Cicchetti and Toth, 1992) that occurs between late childhood
and adolescence makes early adolescence a time of heightened vul
nerability to emotional and behavior problems and substance use dis
orders. Moreover, problems during this critical period increase vul-
Completion of this work was supported by grants from the Center for Substance Abuse
Treatment (CSAT, Grant No. I KD1 Til 1871, H. Liddle, Principal Investigator) and the
National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant No. P50 DAI 1328, H. Liddle, Principal Investi
gator; Grant No. T32 DA07297, H. Liddle, Principal Investigator). The opinions ex
pressed in this chapter are those of the authors and do not reflect official positions of
CSAT or NIDA.