Based on the study of a large number of young people ranging in age from eleven to seventeen, Relationships in Adolescence, originally published in 1974, proposes a new model of adolescent development, described as the ‘focal’ model, which makes a valuable contribution to the greater understanding of adolescence for all who have contact with this age group. The book contains an examination of three different approaches to adolescence, an outline of the research project, and a discussion of the empirical evidence concerning identity and self-image, heterosexual and parental relationships, and large group situations. Comparisons are made between age levels and between boys and girls with respect to the whole range of relationships, and the evidence illustrates significant and at times dramatic differences between groups. Of particular importance are some of the changes which occur with age, such as the degree of conflict with parents and attitudes to sexuality.

Based on Dr Coleman’s findings is his fresh ‘focal’ model of adolescent development. This model stresses the elements of growth and change in adolescence, with special emphasis on the normal anxieties and conflicts that occur at different stages of the developmental period. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.