Madeline Levine has been a practicing psychologist for 25 years, but it was only recently that she began to observe a new breed of unhappy teenager. When a bright, personable 15-year-old girl from a loving and financially comfortable family came into her office with the word "empty" carved into her left forearm, Levine was startled. This girl and her message seemed to embody a disturbing pattern Levine had been observing. Her teenage patients were bright, socially skilled, and loved by their affluent parents. But behind a veneer of achievement and charm, many of these teens suffered severe emotional problems.
Numerous studies show that privileged adolescents are experiencing epidemic rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse--rates that are higher than those of any other socioeconomic group of young people in this country. The various elements of a perfect storm--materialism, pressure to achieve, perfectionism, disconnection--are combining to create a crisis in America's culture of affluence.
In this controversial look at privileged families, Levine offers thoughtful, practical advice as she explodes one child-rearing myth after another. With empathy and candor, she identifies parenting practices that are toxic to healthy self-development and that have contributed to epidemic levels of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in the most unlikely place: the affluent family.
Critical Praise
"Useful...clear, sensitive..."--Publisher's Weekly
"In this insightful book, Levine eschews the temptation to dismiss problems of privileged teens as overindulgence."--Booklist
"[Written] with clarity and understanding of the culture of affluence and its pitfalls for parents."--Library Journal
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