The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published in The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and is available as an open-access article. 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 develop and mature. 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 ones 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. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine were asked to convene a committee of experts to examine the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and to outline 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. The challenge for a caring society is to take maximum advantage of the developmental opportunities afforded by adolescence to forge positive trajectories into adulthood for all adolescents. This course on cultivating developmental opportunities during adolescence is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of cultivating developmental opportunities during adolescence. Authors: Bonnie and Backes Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding cultivating developmental opportunities during adolescence. Specifically, a professional will: Describe the neurobiological changes that occur throughout adolescence. Recognize the effects of socioeconomic inequity on adolescent development. Identify recommendations by which youth-serving systems can invest in adolescents. Citation: Bonnie, R. J., and Backes, E. P. (2019). The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity of All Youth. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.17226/25388