The Parent's Handbook on Adolescence.

The Parent's Handbook on Adolescence by Dr. John L. Schimel is a well-written, easy-to-read volume on the problems confronting today's adolescent and his parents. The book ranges from some general impressions of today's youth to the more specific topics of drug abuse and alcohol. There is initial focusing on the conflict between generations with the usual historical precedent where each generation sees the growing youth as the carrier of doom, hopelessness, futility, and world destruction. There are numerous amusing vignettes to highlight some common encounters between parent and adolescent. The more common interactions such as game playing, double-bind situations, parental inconsistency, and the adolescent's acting out of the parents unconscious wishes are described with their implicit messages. The chapters dealing with the sexual problems of adolescence and the use of drugs are well-written and informative.

Webster's definition of a handbook is a reference book that can