Mental disorders, family disruption and dysfunction, substance abuse, school failure, for example. Understanding the causes and consequences of the problems for which youth were at risk represented a critical stage in the cumulative science of adolescent and youth development. Furthermore, the overarching preoccupation researchers had with problems has perhaps contributed to the public perception that youth are responsible for these problems. Hence, it is appropriate that research attention be explicitly redirected from risks to resiliency, and there is a body of work allowing us to do so. By also strategically pursuing communication of the research it funds to the public and other audiences, the Foundation should now be able to help the nation value youth as a resource, rather than as a liability characterized by multiple problem behaviors.
Youth make valuable contributions to society and they have the potential to contribute even more.
Hence, the Foundation will now encourage research from this perspective. The Foundation has a long history of supporting research on adolescent and youth development. Since 1980 the Foundation supported research primarily on school-age children and adolescents. Prior to 1980 the developmental concern had been with infancy. In the early 1990's the Foundation expanded its developmental focus to include the transition to adulthood and young adults.