Maureen Drysdale, B. J. Rye, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Adolescence

Adolescence is inherently controversial. Caught between the developmental expectations of childhood and adulthood, society has a great interest in what adolescents should and should not be able to do. Adolescents have a different perspective and are indeed driven towards behaviors that are often at odds with societal forces. In Taking Sides: Clashing Views of Adolescence (Drysdale and Rye 2006), 18 issues pertaining to society’s proscriptions for adolescent behavior (e.g., should adolescents have access to condoms) or the deleterious effects of events during this period (e.g., the effect of divorce on adolescent development) are explored in a “didactic, dialectical fashion” (p. v). The authors introduce an interesting format for considering opposing views on each of these issues. Targeted toward student readers, the intent of the book is to “foster critical and incisive thinking about issues that may have a significant impact on adolescent development in the 21st century.” (p. v). This is a perfectly laudable offering with great pedagogical potential. However, “Taking Sides” falls short of that goal. …