This book is devoted to identifying the precursors of adolescents‎'‎ health problems and risk taking behaviors and the developmental processes that accompany them‎.‎ It presents data on lay conceptions of health and illness‎,‎ physical maturity‎,‎ causes of mortality and morbidity‎,‎ and patterns of utilization of medical and psychosocial health care services‎.‎ Developmental changes in risk perception‎,‎ self‎-disclosure behavior‎,‎ and in dealing with nudity are linked with doctor‎-patient communication to illustrate the typical obstacles health experts are faced with when trying to assess diagnostic information in this age group‎.‎ Developmental barriers that hinder adolescents‎'‎ compliance are highlighted and factors accounting for their aversion to counseling are reviewed‎.‎ This book also presents findings on typical stressors occurring during adolescence and their effect on health status as well as factors mediating the effect of stress on health‎.‎ Throughout‎,‎ readers gain valuable insight into gender differences‎,‎ physical and psychological symptoms‎,‎ and help‎-seeking behaviors‎.‎ Special attention is directed to deficits in coping behavior‎,‎ social support‎,‎ and network structure of distressed adolescents and the current state of research relative to coping with chronic illness in adolescence is reviewed‎.‎ Implications of these findings for the development of intervention strategies or for improving the health care of chronically ill adolescents and particularly troubled adolescents are detailed‎.‎ This volume will appeal to clinical and school psychologists‎,‎ psychiatrists‎,‎ physicians‎,‎ counselors or other healthcare professionals working with adolescents as well as researchers in the field of adolescent health‎.‎ It also serves as a text in graduate level courses on adolescent health‎,‎ psychopathology‎,‎ and developmental pediatrics‎.‎