Youth Perspective on 21st Century Societal Challenges: A Youth-Informed Study

The current generation of youth is growing up amidst multiple societal challenges. The aim of this youth-informed study was to examine the prioritization of societal challenges by adolescents and emerging adults. In phase 1, participants ( N = 596, 11–30-yrs, Mage = 21.05, SD = 4.05, 69.3% female, 88.4% Dutch ethnicity) prioritized co-created societal issues. The findings show that participants prioritized both societal (climate change, diversity and inclusion) and individual topics (personal wellbeing and healthy living), with the most highly rated societal topics becoming more important with increasing age. In phase 2 ( N = 1164, 12–30-yrs, Mage = 19.11, SD = 3.01, 59% female, 73.4% Dutch ethnicity), results showed that highly attuned youth experienced greater motivation to contribute to society, alongside a lower perception of inequalities of opportunity. These findings emphasize that adolescence and emerging adulthood are important times to invest in opportunities for youth to contribute to societal challenges.