Book Review (Boomerang Kids by Carl Pickhardt)

Book Review by Lisa  Cropp

 

The book I am reviewing for my blog post discusses various challenges that young adults face, including substance use, flunking out of college, and unemployment.   The book supports the research on the topics mentioned above.  First, I will discuss substance use and how the book and research align with each other.  The book states:   the combination of new freedom and new social pressures are what make trial independence a more impulsive age, the one during which substance use is most widespread and often heaviest of all (Pickhardt, pg 156).  Substance use is about gratifying the desire for freedom.  In other words, future consequences aren’t of any concern; only the moment matters for adolescents.  The book also talks about how when adolescents move away from home they turn to partying because parties provide a means  for hanging out, meeting peers, and acting more like an adult. Research shows peer socialization as one process explaining the similarity between peers and the use of substances.  Research also found that some of this normative substance use is guided by the social context of the young adult (college, partying, etc) and the influence of peers.  The book and research both agree that young people want to fit in socially, which means making foolish choices.  Both the book and research found that substance use levels off by young adulthood, around twenty three or so, and adolescents is characterized by an increase in substance use over time. 

Flunking out of college can be a hard pill to swallow for young adults and the book discusses some reasons why this happens, including financial hardships, outside obligations to family/job, and inadequate academic and psychological preparation.  Students may not have gained sufficient skills or preparation in high school to successfully complete college-level work.  Socially, students might feel isolated and unable to find a comfortable way to fit in.  That is, the challenge of being a student, commitment, and readiness makes it hard for young people to succeed in college.  Research backs up these claims in a study of maladjustments relating to college students.  The research grouped college problems into three areas.  The first group is scholastic, which includes failure in studies and illegible handwriting.  The second group is social, which includes disobedience to college rules, lack of initiative, and lack of getting along with others.  The third group is personal, which includes worry over financial matter and personal or family troubles.  So you see, both the book and research claim that young adults aren’t ready for college due to lack of readiness in the three areas mentioned above (scholastic, social, and personal). 

The quality of application was very good because the information could be useful in helping young people deal with the many obstacles of growing up.  As a parent raising two teenage daughters (16 and 14), I feel I could apply the books helpful hints to my personal life, if or when the need arises.  I like how the book discussed a wide spectrum of challenges that all young adults encounter at one time or another.  The quality of writing was excellent in more ways than one.  For starters, the book was written in a way which made sense to me.  In other words, there weren’t a lot of technical terms to understand.  The book did a superb job in transitioning from topic to topic.  Second, the author included examples and exerts written by young adults who are going or have gone through challenges mentioned in the book, which helped add more credibility to the writing.  I really liked how the author used bullet points to emphasize certain points, which made the contents of the book easier to grasp.  Finally, I appreciated how the book included “parenting prescriptions” to help sum up each section.  I felt like the author knew what he was talking about.  Excellent book and I would definitely recommend this book to parents and young adults who need help in getting through the “tough times”. 

Sources

Maladjustment among college students, Journal of applied psychology, 1924, vol.8 (4), p. 390-410 [Peer review journal]

The influence of peers on young adults substance use, Health psychology, 2002, vol.21 (4), p. 349-357[Peer review journal]

Pickhardt, C., PhD. Boomerang Kids. Sourcebooks, Inc.  Illinois (2011).