Part One - Theoretical Perspectives on Values, Religion, and Adolescent Development in Cultural Context

Summary

Abstract

This chapter discusses why research on adolescent development will benefit from a focus on values and religion using a culture-sensitive approach. In the first part, the relations among culture, values, and religion in adolescent development are briefly summarized. The second part deals with the topic of adolescent values, and the third part addresses religion and religiosity. Each part discusses relevant research from a multidisciplinary perspective and highlights major issues, results, and gaps in sociological and psychological research. Finally, the theoretical and empirical contributions of this volume are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research in order to achieve a better understanding of adolescent development in a changing cultural context.