Growing up Forgotten: A Review of Research and Programs Concerning Early Adolescence

When Lispitz published Growing Up Forgotten: A Review of Research and Programs Concerning Early Adolescence in 1977 (first edition), she answered the question, “Who is doing what and where for people between the ages of twelve and fifteen?” In this landmark study, Lipsitz found that people in the stage of their life known as early adolescence are often overlooked by educational researchers, policymakers, and public service providers. The concept of early adolescence was virtually unknown and totally misunderstood. Lipsitz even contended, “as a society we have no coherent concept of adolescence” (p. 3) which has greatly impacted the support given to the biological, socioemotional, and cognitive development of adolescents.