Historically, psychologists have focused on stopping or minimizing the things that go wrong for youth. They’ve proposed interventions to reduce depression, promoted medications to curb anxiety, and studied programs to reduce teen pregnancies. Although this work is very important, it isn’t sufficient.
As sociologist Karen Pittman pointed out, “being problem-free is not the same as being fully-prepared.” So, today Positive Psychologists study the ways young people thrive. They’re interested in how youth develop healthy relationships, formulate meaningful goals, and contribute to society. Embracing this more hopeful approach to youth development, my research over the past fifteen years has focused on […]The post Five Steps Mothers and Mentors Can Take to Foster Purpose in Adolescents appeared first on Ms. Career Girl.