This volume presents an overview of contemporary black adolescents from social, psychological, economic, educational, medical, historical, and comparative perspectives, with most emphasizing the roles that race, socioeconomic status, and environmental forces play in this critical period. The volume includes 19 chapters by various authors arranged into 8 sections. The first section treats perspectives in an overview essay by J. T. Gibbs, a look at important developments in black adolescent research by B. G. Holliday, and a discussion of comparative personality development by C. B. Murray and others. The second section treats youth in diverse settings in J. A. Banks' look at black youth in white suburbs and C. C. Lee's description of rural black adolescents. The third section is on physical and mental health and includes B. Staggars' report on black adolescent health care issues and H. F. Meyers' paper on urban stress. The fourth section explores psychosocial development and socialization in R. L. Taylor's paper on social construction of identity and M. L. Clark's paper on friendships and peer relations. The fifth section looks at education in R. Tobais' report on issues and programs and C. B. Murray and H. H. Fairchild's paper on models of underachievement. Section 6 is on career development and employment with papers by I. Baly on career and vocational development and J. Malveaux on transitions to the labor market. Section 7 examines counseling and psychotherapy in chapters by C. C. Lee and A. J. Franklin. A final section on special topics looks at antecedents and outcomes of adolescent pregnancy by D. Scott-Jones and others, teen parenting by L. Goddard and W. Cavil, substance abuse by E. G. Singleton, and black youth and the criminal justice system by F. F. Hawkins and N. Jones. Included are bibliographic sketches of the authors, and author and subject indexes. All chapters include extensive references. (JB)