The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth

By Board on Children Youth and FamiliesDivision of Behavioral and Social Sciences and EducationThe National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, et al.

Adolescence--beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20s--is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course.

Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescence--rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0309490081
• ISBN13: 9780309490085
• Release Date: August 2019
• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Length: 492 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.9" x 8.9"