Youth—A New Open Access Journal

Youth [1] is an international and peer-reviewed journal covering a broad range of topics that all influence persons lumped into the category of youth. The numerous issues of interest to the research community involving youth include mental health, education, sociology, economics, employment, cultural studies, civic engagement, and other social perspectives of youth and young adulthood. So why are they important? While there is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group, the United Nations has defined it as persons between 15–24 [2]. Youth in most circumstances become adults and, as such, potential contributors to all aspects of life. Understanding the myriad of effects that shift their trajectory provides opportunities to support growth and development as well as minimize or ameliorate risk. As you examine the world it is often clear to see the impact young people can have, from the protests around the police shootings of unarmed black men in the US to the Arab Spring.

Virtually every field in the social and health sciences focuses on individuals 15–24 as a group, often with a specific field or subfield in that particular area of scholarship. Around the globe we have institutions dedicated, in whole or part, to this age group, whether in juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, or education. Today, approximately 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years account for 16 percent of the global population (State of the World’s Children 2021) [3]. The most recent report focuses on how mental health impacts the ability of youth to develop to their fullest potential. The report calls attention to the lack of investment by governments and societies in promoting, protecting, and caring for the mental health of children, young people, and their caregivers. Mental health is just one of the many areas where systematic research published in Youth can make essential contributions. Examining youth and youth culture is fundamentally important to our success in preparing and supporting the next generation of adults.

Our goal is to work together with the global research community whose interest and scholarship speak to providing evidence that will support and enhance the lives of youth and the systems that affect their lives. We are interested in working with graduate students, scholars, scientists, and research centers who share this interest.