Agency and Opportunity in Early Adolescence: Investigating Gender-Specific Patterns in Developmental Trajectories Using Longitudinal Data

This study explores how individual agency develops during early adolescence (ages 10–14) and how external opportunity structures—like parenting behavior and neighborhood context—differentially shape agency development for boys and girls. The study zooms in specifically on gender-specific patterns in development over time, various types of influence (household, parental, peer, neighborhood), as well as two key domains of agency: Freedom of Movement and Voice. The illustration of “The Unequal Opportunity Race” is a demonstration of this fundamental idea: no matter how fast you run, some of us have a head start.

This study meets at the intersection of developmental cognitive psychology and sociology,  studying both the effects of the environment and identities, as well as individual agency, to create a more comprehensive understanding of how the things we can control and the things we cannot both play a role in shaping who we become. The goal of this study is to explore differences in how agency devlopmes thought adolescence, particularly across genders, to help better understand and promote adolescent empowerment.

To read more on the topic, Click Here!

Thanks for tuning in!

 

Cooper Armogida

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

---