The Role of Spiritual Development in Growth of Purpose, Generosity and Psychological Health in Adolescence

Research at the The Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development

From the The Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development:

The Role of Spiritual Development in Growth of Purpose, Generosity, and Psychological Health in Adolescence

Richard M. Lerner | Erin Phelps | Robert W. Roeser

The project is a three-year, John Templeton Foundation funded study designed to be both "field building" and "field defining" in the study of spirituality and positive development during adolescence. The project consists of three different phases, including

1. the assembly of a national group of scholars interested in studying spirituality and youth development who will define the measures and methods relevant to such a study;
2. the carrying out of a collaborative, cross-sectional research study spanning the second decade of life; and
3. the dessimination of findings and preparation for the launch of a national longitudinal study of spirituality and youth development beginning in 2008-09.

Through this project we aim to enlarge the scholarly community directly involved in the study of spirituality and human development and, as well, in its relation to neural growth, generosity, purpose, and exemplary healthy development during adolescence -- what we term "thriving." We will also create enthusiasm for this field of research among scholars and the public more generally. We will endeavor to accomplish these goals by conducting a collaborative study that provides the conceptual and empirical foundation for a national, longitudinal investigation aimed at elucidating the brain, psychological, behavioral, and ecological (family and community) bases of the development of spirituality, purpose, generosity, and thriving among adolescents in general, and among a subset of youth who are particularly precocious with respect to moral and spiritual development in particular.

The three phases of the proposed work will provide leverage for funding the subsequent national longitudinal study, and for engaging a new cohort of established and developing researchers and theologians in empirically ascertaining what role spirituality plays in moderating an adolescent's development of generosity, purpose, and thriving. The new scientific knowledge that will arise from these efforts is critically important for understanding how to cultivate healthy individual development during adolescence and beyond, and thus, in how to build the human and social capital requisite for the healthy perpetuation of humanity across its diverse religious and spiritual traditions.