ABSTRACT
Adolescence marks the developmental transition period into adulthood. This is a time when puberty and brain maturation lead to new sets of behaviors as well as capacities that enable transitions in family, peer, and educational domains, and in health behaviors. These transitions modify childhood trajectories towards health and well-being (Viner et al., 2012). The adolescent period is also characterized by plasticity, a fundamental strength that has the potential for systematic changes that may result in positive functioning (Lerner, 2009). Fostering developmental transactions between the plastic, developing young person and the contextual setting increases the chances that young people may manifest healthy and positive developmental changes across the adolescent years (Lerner et al., 2012). The nature and quality of young people’s future lives – as well as a country’s future social and economic development – depend largely on how well adolescents navigate this transition.
