Is There Inequality in What Adolescents Can Give as Well as Receive?

Adolescents have a fundamental need to contribute to other people, social groups, and the larger society. Giving support and resources to others assists canonical developmental tasks such as autonomy and identity and is beneficial for psychological and physical health. As with the resources received by youth, inequalities according to well-known social gradients likely exist in the opportunity for adolescents to make meaningful contributions to their social world. Greater attention to inequalities in the opportunities for adolescents to give as well as receive could reveal underappreciated but significant ways in which the development of youth from marginalized groups may be comprised.