(UN)EQUAL: Perspectives on Youth Development, lecture by Erika Niwa

Inequality remains a powerful and toxic force in the everyday lives of diverse young people growing up around the world. Against this backdrop, there have been growing calls in developmental science to document and model the social and psychological mechanisms by which inequality emanating from macro-contexts shapes intra-individual change over time in young people’s micro-contexts. This talk will frame the urgency of examining these processes during adolescence, when youth experience profound developmental shifts alongside changing social and structural conditions heightening experiences and perceptions of inequality and racism. Using data drawn national and international studies, findings will be used to examine how youths’ experiences of discrimination and ethnic-political conflict shape young people’s developmental pathways, as well as how young people are active agents of change in their own communities.