Thoughts of Youth

• List of Figures/TablesAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Introduction: The Why and How of International Studies of Adolescents' Ideal PersonsChapter 2. Moral Thinking and AltruismChapter 3. Physical Appearance and AttractivenessChapter 4. Self and IdentityChapter 5. Intelligence and SchoolingChapter 6. Work, On the Job and at HomeChapter 7. Leisure and FunChapter 8. Relationships, Family, and RomanceChapter 9. Demographic and Cultural Differences among AdolescentsChapter 10. Concluding RemarksAppendicesReferencesIndex

In this original and provocative book, Judith Gibbons and Deborah Stiles present the results of 15 years of research on over 8000 adolescents in 20 countries around the world, in which they asked the adolescents to describe the ideal man or woman through ratings, drawings, and written statements. These descriptions reveal much about the lives and dreams of adolescents in diverse areas, including physical appearance, love, school, work, family, and fun. Gibbons and Stiles include many of the drawings, which are often striking, sometimes amusing, sometimes poignant. The authors give ample attention not just to the similarities of adolescents across cultures, but to the differences among them by culture as well as gender, social class, and ethnicity. Furthermore, they integrate material from many other studies of adolescents into their own findings, so that the book is an excellent overview of what we know about adolescents in many different cultures in diverse aspects of their lives. The book is clearly structured and nicely written. Anyone who wishes to know more about the lives of adolescents worldwide will greatly enjoy this book. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett Editor, Journal of Adolescent Research