This book provides a multidisciplinary examination of the complex social issues surrounding adolescent health and health care delivery. It draws specifically on the resources of Catholic social teaching, presents an overview of the medical problems common among young people, and explores the social and familial contexts in which these problems arise. It provides a framework within which to view the conditions limiting the health and well-being of adolescents and to understand the resultant deterioration of the physical and mental health of adolescents in this country.

The insights gained from Catholic moral teaching are included with those of social science and medicine in order to formulate specific recommendations for creative and effective delivery of health care to adolescents.