Originally published in 1979, the research reported in this volume is based on investigations of how tenth-grade boys cope and adapt to the high-school environment in, specifically, two high schools in suburban Detroit in 1970. In addition to information about the ways that students relate to the high school environment, this volume presents examples of how multiple research methods can be used to investigate the expression of complex person and environment relationships.

This volume has been prepared to illustrate the application of an ecological point of view for research on person-environment relationships. It was hoped that the community psychologist, social psychologist, and school psychologist interested in doing research with adolescents and the high school environment would find the presentation of research methods informative and encouraging. For those readers involved in teaching and administering in secondary education, the volume was an example of how research can illustrate the ongoing personal and social characteristics of students and the high school environment.