Chapter 7: From Accepting Failure To Promoting Success

When adults reflect on their middle level years, many remember the awkward, difficult, or stressful times in their youth. It is not surprising that the literature frequently refers to this period in a negative light. To describe this transition between childhood and early adulthood, concepts such as storm and stress, risk and rebellion (Guerra & Bradshaw, 2008), and struggle for independence (Beane & Lipka, 1984) still persist in the literature.

Perhaps the primary reason for the deficit focus is the amount of sheer change early adolescents negotiate. Aside from infancy, there is no other stage of life that is characterized by more changes and greater development than early adolescence (Akos, 2005).