Webinar: Understanding and Addressing Early Adolescence Through Evidence

Background

Despite its importance, early adolescence remains one of the least studied periods of the life course. Policymakers and program planners often lack robust evidence on the experiences, aspirations, social influences, and developmental trajectories of younger adolescents, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. 

The Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) is a longitudinal research initiative conducted in 10 countries and 12 sites, including three in Latin America and the Caribbean, in a collaborative effort between the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, academic institutions, and program implementors. 

The study seeks to generate a better understanding on: 1) how gender socialization occurs in early adolescence; 2) how gender norms and attitudes shape adolescent development and well-being; 3) how these evolving norms and attitudes shape health trajectories as individuals transition through adolescence into adulthood; and 4) appropriate measures and methods for research on these issues for this age group. It has also been used to evaluate gender-transformative interventions in several sites, granting insight into how programs work differently by context, gender, and target health outcome.

The first decade of global investment in adolescent health has highlighted the need for stronger evidence on the experiences and needs of younger adolescents. Traditional health indicators alone do not adequately capture the social and developmental factors that influence adolescent outcomes.

This webinar aims to strengthen the design of interventions that respond to the realities of young adolescents through sharing of the lessons learned from the the Global Early Adolescent Study. It will highlight global lessons learned as well as experiences from Chile, Jamaica, and Brasil.