Race & Equity

At the Center for the Developing Adolescent, we are dedicated to improving adolescent health, education, and well-being through developmental science. That is a mission we cannot achieve without confronting the systemic racism, bias, and discrimination that impacts adolescents of color, and particularly Black adolescents, in this country.

Our research highlights the core developmental needs of adolescents, but it also underscores the reality that opportunities to meet those needs are not equally available to all young people. We are committed to sharing and supporting research as well as research-informed policies and practices that examine, overcome, and eradicate the implicit and explicit bias that creates obstacles to healthy development for Black youth.

In addition to our original content in the Resources section, we suggest the following resources to learn more about how issues related to race and equity influence adolescent development:

The Intersection of Adolescent Development and Anti-Black Racism

The first Council Report from the National Scientific Council on Adolescence (NSCA), The Intersection of Anti-Black Racism and Adolescent Development, summarizes research on how racism and related inequities impact key developmental milestones of adolescence and offers recommendations to support Black youth within key social contexts of the middle and high school years.

To read the NSCA report and access summary materials, visit the Adolescence and Anti-Black Racism resource page.