adolescence
Definition
Adolescence is a developmental period marked by heightened malleability in political orientations, increases in impulsive and sensation-seeking behaviour, and accelerated social-affective maturation. During this period, political identities and behaviours are especially sensitive to contextual influences, such that within-person increases in political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction are concurrently associated with increases in radical political behaviour across ages 13 to 17. Risk-taking similarly rises from late childhood into middle adolescence before gradually declining as self-regulatory systems continue to mature, and this period is also one of intensified social-cognitive development in which the ability to adjust decisions based on new information becomes increasingly important. Late adolescence is also recognised as a formative window for political identity development, during which young people show heightened responsiveness to socio-political events, and future anxiety during this period is associated with stronger support for democratic principles as well as higher political participation.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026), Tsomokos & Flouri (2023), Borghi et al. (2025)
Related Terms
- theory of mind (1 shared article)
- social cognition (1 shared article)
- risk-taking (1 shared article)
- decision-making (1 shared article)
- emotion regulation (1 shared article)
- future anxiety (1 shared article)
- political attitudes (1 shared article)
- ideology (1 shared article)
- political trust (1 shared article)
- radical political behavior (1 shared article)
- radicalism (1 shared article)
- radicalization (1 shared article)
- political alienation (1 shared article)
- political powerlessness (1 shared article)
- political dissatisfaction (1 shared article)
Applications
Adolescence and Political Radicalism
Political radicalism is disproportionately concentrated among youth under the age of 20, and the onset of radicalisation is occurring at younger ages, making adolescence a period of particular concern. Using five-wave panel data from Swedish youth aged 13 to 17, within-person increases in political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction were each associated with concurrent increases in radical political behaviour, with effects consistently stronger for boys than girls.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026)
Adolescence and Future Anxiety
Late adolescence and young adulthood are formative periods for political identity during which young people are more responsive to socio-political events. Among UK adolescents aged 16 to 21, future anxiety was most strongly associated with increased support for democratic principles, while among young men specifically it was also associated with right-conservative ideological self-classification, a pattern replicated in a Greek sample.
Sources: Borghi et al. (2025)
Adolescence and Risk Adjustment
Adolescence is characterised by increased risk-taking and reduced inhibition, but an equally important dimension of this period is the capacity to adjust decisions under risk in response to new information. In a sample of 9,575 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, superior social cognitive abilities measured at ages 5 and 7 were positively associated with risk adjustment on the Cambridge Gambling Task at age 14, even after controlling for family income, parental education, and verbal ability.
Sources: Tsomokos & Flouri (2023)
