The chapters in this volume have presented a panoramic view of adolescents in a global perspective. They draw attention to the diversity of contexts in which young people are growing up today, preparing themselves to assume adult roles in the years to come. The contrasts between regions are striking and at times startling. The likelihood of an adolescent girl being enrolled in secondary school is as low as 5–10 percent in many African countries but is virtually 100 percent in Japan and some European countries (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund 1997; UNICEF). Equally striking, however, can be the similarities across large geographic and cultural distances. In many ways, the lives of middle-class youth in India, Southeast Asia, and Europe have more in common with each other than they do with those of poor youth in their own countries.

The portraits of adolescence presented here are important both in their own right – as a reflection of the well-being of a substantial segment of the population – and as a portent of the future of society. The nation that neglects to provide for its youth will see the costs of that neglect in the years that follow. The nation that equips and energizes its youth is likely to reap compounded benefits as these youth enter adulthood and take over the reigns of society as parents, workers, and leaders.