The decisive decade? Mapping key trends among adolescents and young adults in the US

There is growing public concern over the opportunities and well-being of America’s young adults and adolescents. From declining college enrollment to rising mental health problems, there are a number of disturbing trends for young people before and after the transition to adulthood.

But what are the facts? In this online event, experts and scholars dug into the key trends over recent years for adolescents and young adults and discussed likely causes and potential solutions.

The event opened with a summary presentation of a new report, “The Decisive Decade: Understanding the Trajectories of 14- to 24-year-olds,” by Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, and Ember Smith, doctoral student, UC Berkeley. “The Decisive Decade” draws on rich datasets to describe recent key trends and trajectories for adolescents and young adults in education, employment, and family life.

Richard was then joined on a panel by Lara Aknin of Simon Fraser University, Jonathan Zaff of Boston University, and Ian Rowe of the American Enterprise Institute. Tara Watson, director of the Center for Economic Security and Opportunity at Brookings moderated.

Viewers joined the conversation and asked questions of the panelists by emailing [email protected] and on X/Twitter using the hashtag #DecisiveDecade.