The Second Decade: What Can We Do About the Adolescent Brain?

With a recent UNICEF report showing our youth to be the unhappiest in the industrialised world (UNICEF, 2007; BBC, 2007), the time has come to seriously review the way in which our society treats its young people. It is debatable whether our overarching motivation to do so is an altruistic one (to improve lives), or one of sel-fpreservation (fear of A Clockwork Orange -style random violence). Both are, at this point, equally compelling.