Youth Research Update: Anthony Burrow, "Multiple Paths to Purpose"

This is a series of brief videos recorded at the BCTR Youth Research Update in June, 2012. The 2012 Youth Development Research Update brought together practitioners and researchers for a day and a half to - learn about new research in a variety of disciplines - explore how these research findings could benefit young people, and which issues or questions need further study and exploration. Anthony Burrow, Assistant Professor of Human Development, presented research on the significance of developing positive identities and a meaningful sense of direction during adolescence and young adulthood. Adolescence has traditionally been characterized as a transitional stage of autonomy seeking, identity exploration, and emotional instability -- not as a stage of cultivating a meaningful sense of direction in life. However, emerging perspectives advanced by positive youth development researchers contend that adolescents are, in fact, capable of developing a sense of self that includes purpose. Using the identity capital model as a theoretical framework, his findings suggest that (a) many youth consider their purpose in life and often do so in complex ways and (b) purpose may serve as an important mechanism through which a stable identity contributes to well-being.