Teenagers: When to Worry and What to Do

Parents who need assistance in determining whether an adolescent's problem behavior is transient or of a more serious nature will find this book reassuring and informative. Powell, a psychologist at the Harvard University Health Services, constructs a framework""zones of concern''of four descriptive categories of teenage behavior. Case studies presented are those representative of both temporary developmental difficulties, which fall within the range of ``normal,'' and those that presage deep psychic disturbance. Powell advises parents to rely on common sense, to ``be there'' for their children (even when their offspring are beyond the teens), to accept with equanimity the bittersweet experience of parenting. Optimistic in tone, pragmatic in suggestions, this is a resource that adolescents as well as parents should find useful. (June 6)