The opportunities and challenges facing young adults in the "decisive decade" -- between the ages of 14 and 24 -- shape their long-term health, family, education, and work outcomes. Young adults face a myriad of firsts and opportunities: making independent decisions; landing a job; navigating adult relationships; having children; and attending school. These factors set the stage for their future opportunities. At the same time, this period is also marked by widening opportunity gaps by race, class, and gender as young people face varying levels of support and access to resources that can enable or impede their progress. This report provides a snapshot of how young adults are faring in the decisive decade and highlights the need for continued attention and investment in this critical period of life. By identifying key indicators of success and disparities, we hope to inform policy efforts aiming to improve young adults' opportunity.
Authors
- Acknowledgements and disclosures
- The Brookings Institution is financed through the support of a diverse array of foundations, corporations, governments, individuals, as well as an endowment. A list of donors can be found in our annual reports published online here. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this report are solely those of its author(s) and are not influenced by any donation.
- Published in
- United States of America
