The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

Madeline Levine has been a practicing psychologist for twenty–five years, but it was only recently that she began to observe a new breed of unhappy teenager. When a bright, personable fifteen–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. What was going on?

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...