There are about 11 million adolescents in Italy today. By the 21st century there will be 1.5 billion adolescents in the entire world. In western Europe, the mean epoch between menarche and menopause has risen to 12-15 years. Nevertheless, attention dedicated to this phase of life has never been assiduous or rigorous. Biology and anthropology have often neglected the adolescent, concentrating instead on adulthood (due to the productive and decisional roles needed to be made in this period) or on infancy (because of the special needs for care). However, the adolescent lives in a very complex period of rapid physical, psychological and social change that has no equal in any other life stage. Furthermore, he/she lives in a time of bio-psychosocial uniqueness (modification of the somatic aspect, i.e., becoming sexually well defined and, especially, modification of the somatic image, i.e., how the adolescent sees himself/herself and how he/she thinks that others might see him/her). In such a way, the adolescent experiments with his/her attractiveness and success, very important in the delicate construction of personality. He/she is easily influenced by environmental inputs, that are sometimes divergent. He/she is also vulnerable to cultural models that offer a partial and instrumental view of personhood, especially in the field of sexuality. In recent years, some specialized centres for adolescents, with different organizations and aims, have been established in Italy.

In Corridonia (Macerata), a discussion school for adolescents has been functioning for eight years: in the period 1985-1990, 2114 registrations of adolescents (mean: 423/year) and 800 registrations of parents (mean: 160/year) were carried out.

The aim of the Corridonia School is to provide adolescents with specific information and discussions on their growth. All the topics, concerning somatical, cognitive, affective, ethical, and social changes, are proposed as a "school of life". Thanks to voluntary specialists (in psychology, psychiatry, ethics, gynaecology, and andrology) and 50 group-co-ordinators, the School helps adolescents in their choices, overcoming crises of identity; it gives them not answers directly but rather tools to find answers.

The school consists in weekly seminars for adolescents: a) < 16 years; b) between 16 and 23 years; c) > 23 years. Each seminar is composed of a plenary session (45 min.), breakfast and group discussion (2 h.). Participants are provided with audio-visual aids, books, etc. Furthermore, the School organizes seminars for parents, teachers and educators.

Every year, at the end of the school, an evaluation concerning questionnaires, tests, opinion polls, and psychological and/or clinical examinations of the adolescents is carried out. Thanks to this formative approach, it has been possible to obtain a primary prevention (concerning sexually caused diseases, mental disorders and juvenile risky behaviours) and to instruct adolescents themselves in helping their contemporaries with psycho-physical problems.

Key Words: Adolescence, Juvenile risky behaviours, Prevention.