essay on social responsibility in youth

Essay on Responsibility Of Youth

Students are often asked to write an essay on Responsibility Of Youth in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Responsibility Of Youth

Importance of youth responsibility.

Youth are the future. They have the power to shape the world. It’s important for them to understand their responsibilities. This includes caring for themselves, their families, and their communities. They should also respect the law and the rights of others.

Personal Responsibility

Youth have a duty to take care of their health. This means eating well, exercising, and avoiding harmful habits. They also need to focus on their education. Learning new skills can help them succeed in life.

Family Responsibility

Young people should help their families. They can do chores, take care of siblings, and support their parents. Family is a team, and everyone needs to do their part.

Community Responsibility

Youth should also help their communities. They can volunteer, clean up parks, or help neighbors. By doing these things, they can make their communities better places to live.

Respect for Law and Rights

Finally, youth must respect the law and the rights of others. They should follow rules and treat everyone with kindness. This helps create a peaceful society.

250 Words Essay on Responsibility Of Youth

Introduction.

Youth is a time of energy and potential. It is a time when we can shape our life. As young people, we have many responsibilities. These are not just to ourselves, but also to our families, our communities, and our world.

Responsibility to Self

The first duty of youth is to themselves. They must take care of their health and education. They should eat healthy food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. They should also study hard to gain knowledge and skills. This will help them to be successful in the future.

Responsibility to Family

Young people also have a duty to their families. They should respect their parents and elders. They should help with household chores. They should also care for their younger siblings. This helps to strengthen family bonds.

Responsibility to Society

Youth also have a role to play in society. They should be good citizens. They should obey laws and respect authority. They should also help those in need. This can be done by volunteering or donating to charity.

Responsibility to the World

Finally, youth have a responsibility to the world. They should care for the environment. They should also promote peace and understanding among different cultures and religions. This helps to make the world a better place.

In conclusion, youth have many responsibilities. By fulfilling these duties, they can make a positive impact. They can help to shape a better future for themselves and for everyone.

500 Words Essay on Responsibility Of Youth

Youth is a time of energy, growth, and potential. It is a period when we can shape our futures and influence our societies. As young people, we carry a great responsibility. This essay will explore the various responsibilities of youth.

Role in Society

Young people play a critical role in society. They are the leaders of tomorrow, and their actions today will shape the future. They have the responsibility to be informed about world events, local issues, and the needs of their communities. They must participate in social activities, volunteer work, and community service. By doing this, they can contribute to society and make the world a better place.

Education and Learning

Education is another key responsibility of youth. Young people must strive to learn and grow, not only in school but also in life. They should seek knowledge, develop skills, and cultivate curiosity. This will prepare them for future challenges and opportunities. They must also respect their teachers and peers, fostering a positive learning environment for all.

Health and Well-Being

Young people also have a responsibility towards their health and well-being. They should eat healthily, exercise regularly, and avoid harmful habits like smoking or excessive screen time. They should also take care of their mental health, seeking help when needed. By doing this, they can ensure a healthy and productive future.

Respect and Kindness

Respect and kindness are essential responsibilities of youth. Young people should treat others with dignity and respect, regardless of their background or beliefs. They should also show kindness and empathy towards others. This promotes harmony and understanding in society.

Environment Protection

Youth have a vital role in protecting the environment. They should be aware of environmental issues and take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. They can do this by recycling, conserving water, and using renewable energy. They should also advocate for environmental policies and participate in environmental campaigns.

In conclusion, the responsibilities of youth are vast and varied. From contributing to society and pursuing education, to maintaining health, showing respect, and protecting the environment, young people carry a heavy load. Yet, it is through these responsibilities that they can truly make a difference. As they step into adulthood, they carry with them the power to shape the future. It is up to them to use this power wisely, fulfilling their responsibilities and creating a better world for all.

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Young people hold the key to creating a better future

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Stay up to date:, youth perspectives.

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• Young people are the most affected by the crises facing our world.
• They are also the ones with the most innovative ideas and energy to build a better society for tomorrow.
• Read the report "Davos Labs: Youth Recovery Plan" here .

Have you read?

Youth recovery plan.

Young people today are coming to age in a world beset by crises. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated lives and livelihoods around the world, the socio-economic systems of the past had put the liveability of the planet at risk and eroded the pathway to healthy, happy, fulfilled lives for too many.

The same prosperity that enabled global progress and democracy after the Second World War is now creating the inequality, social discord and climate change we see today — along with a widening generational wealth gap and youth debt burden, too. For Millennials, the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession resulted in significant unemployment, huge student debt and a lack of meaningful jobs. Now, for Generation Z, COVID-19 has caused school shutdowns, worsening unemployment, and mass protests.

Young people are right to be deeply concerned and angry, seeing these challenges as a betrayal of their future.

But we can’t let these converging crises stifle us. We must remain optimistic – and we must act.

The next generation are the most important and most affected stakeholders when talking about our global future – and we owe them more than this. The year 2021 is the time to start thinking and acting long-term to make intergenerational parity the norm and to design a society, economy and international community that cares for all people.

Young people are also the best placed to lead this transformation. In the past 10 years of working with the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, a network of people between the ages of 20 and 30 working to address problems in more than 450 cities around the world, I’ve seen first-hand that they are the ones with the most innovative ideas and energy to build a better society for tomorrow.

Over the past year, Global Shapers organized dialogues on the most pressing issues facing society, government and business in 146 cities, reaching an audience of more than 2 million. The result of this global, multistakeholder effort, “ Davos Labs: Youth Recovery Plan ,” presents both a stark reminder of our urgent need to act and compelling insights for creating a more resilient, sustainable, inclusive world.

One of the unifying themes of the discussions was the lack of trust young people have for existing political, economic and social systems. They are fed up with ongoing concerns of corruption and stale political leadership, as well as the constant threat to physical safety caused by surveillance and militarized policing against activists and people of colour. In fact, more young people hold faith in governance by system of artificial intelligence than by a fellow human being.

Facing a fragile labour market and almost bankrupt social security system, almost half of those surveyed said they felt they had inadequate skills for the current and future workforce, and almost a quarter said they would risk falling into debt if faced with an unexpected medical expense. The fact that half of the global population remains without internet access presents additional hurdles. Waves of lockdowns and the stresses of finding work or returning to workplaces have exacerbated the existential and often silent mental health crisis.

So, what would Millennials and Generation Z do differently?

Most immediately, they are calling for the international community to safeguard vaccine equity to respond to COVID-19 and prevent future health crises.

Young people are rallying behind a global wealth tax to help finance more resilient safety nets and to manage the alarming surge in wealth inequality. They are calling to direct greater investments to programmes that help young progressive voices join government and become policymakers.

I am inspired by the countless examples of young people pursuing collective action by bringing together diverse voices to care for their communities.

To limit global warming, young people are demanding a halt to coal, oil and gas exploration, development, and financing, as well as asking firms to replace any corporate board directors who are unwilling to transition to cleaner energy sources.

They are championing an open internet and a $2 trillion digital access plan to bring the world online and prevent internet shutdowns, and they are presenting new ways to minimize the spread of misinformation and combat dangerous extremist views. At the same time, they’re speaking up about mental health and calling for investment to prevent and tackle the stigma associated with it.

The Global Shapers Community is a network of young people under the age of 30 who are working together to drive dialogue, action and change to address local, regional and global challenges.

The community spans more than 8,000 young people in 165 countries and territories.

Teams of Shapers form hubs in cities where they self-organize to create projects that address the needs of their community. The focus of the projects are wide-ranging, from responding to disasters and combating poverty, to fighting climate change and building inclusive communities.

Examples of projects include Water for Life, a effort by the Cartagena Hub that provides families with water filters that remove biological toxins from the water supply and combat preventable diseases in the region, and Creativity Lab from the Yerevan Hub, which features activities for children ages 7 to 9 to boost creative thinking.

Each Shaper also commits personally and professionally to take action to preserve our planet.

Join or support a hub near you .

Transparency, accountability, trust and a focus on stakeholder capitalism will be key to meeting this generation’s ambitions and expectations. We must also entrust in them the power to take the lead to create meaningful change.

I am inspired by the countless examples of young people pursuing collective action by bringing together diverse voices to care for their communities. From providing humanitarian assistance to refugees to helping those most affected by the pandemic to driving local climate action, their examples provide the blueprints we need to build the more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable society and economy we need in the post-COVID-19 world.

We are living together in a global village, and it’s only by interactive dialogue, understanding each another and having respect for one another that we can create the necessary climate for a peaceful and sustainable world.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Essay on Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is a term that has been used in different contexts, including the economy, education, politics , and religion. Social responsibility is challenging because it encompasses so many aspects, and there is no single definition of social responsibility. In simple words, social responsibility is the responsibility of an individual to act in a way that promotes social well-being. This means that a person has a sense of obligation to society and sacrifices for the good of others. BYJU’S essay on social responsibility explains the importance of being a socially responsible citizen.

A society’s responsibility to the individuals in that society can be seen through the various social programmes and laws. Governments try to create a better world for their citizens, so they implement various social programmes like welfare, tax assistance, and unemployment benefits. Laws are also crucial to a society because they enforce practical actions by its citizens and punish harmful actions. Now, let us understand the significance of social responsibility by reading a short essay on social responsibility.

Importance of Social Responsibility

BYJU’S essay on social responsibility highlights the importance of doing good deeds for society. The short essay lists different ways people can contribute to social responsibility, such as donating time and money to charities and giving back by visiting places like hospitals or schools. This essay discusses how companies can support specific causes and how people can be actively involved in volunteering and organisations to help humanitarian efforts.

Social responsibility is essential in many aspects of life. It helps to bring people together and also promotes respect for others. Social responsibility can be seen in how you treat other people, behave outside of work, and contribute to the world around you. In addition, there are many ways to be responsible for the protection of the environment, and recycling is one way. It is crucial to recycle materials to conserve resources, create less pollution, and protect the natural environment.

Society is constantly changing, and the way people live their lives may also vary. It is crucial to keep up with new technology so that it doesn’t negatively impact everyone else. Social responsibility is key to making sure that society is prosperous. For example, social media has created a platform for people to share their experiences and insights with other people. If a company were going to develop a new product or service, it would be beneficial for them to survey people about what they think about the idea before implementing it because prior knowledge can positively impact future decisions.

Social responsibility is essential because it creates a sense of responsibility to the environment . It can lead to greater trust among members of society. Another reason is that companies could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage if they do not ensure their practices are socially responsible. Moreover, companies help people in need through money, time, and clothing, which is a great way to showcase social responsibility.

Being socially responsible is a great responsibility of every human being, and we have briefly explained this in the short essay on social responsibility. Moreover, being socially responsible helps people upgrade the environment and society. For more essays, click on BYJU’S kids learning activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does being socially responsible help in protecting the environment.

Yes. Being socially responsible helps in protecting the environment.

Why should we be socially responsible?

We should be socially responsible because it is the right thing to upgrade society and the environment. Another reason is to help those in need because when more people have jobs, the economy can thrive, and people will have more opportunities.

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Preparing to Participate: The Role of Youth Social Responsibility and Political Efficacy on Civic Engagement for Black Early Adolescents

• Published: 08 September 2015
• Volume 9 , pages 609–630, ( 2016 )

Cite this article

• Elan C. Hope   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2886-5076 1  

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Civic engagement is critical for the well-being of youth and society. Scholars posit that civic beliefs are highly indicative of sustained civic engagement, particularly for Black youth living in the United States. In this study, I examine whether youth social responsibility and political efficacy beliefs are directly related to civic engagement and whether the relationship between youth social responsibility and civic outcomes varies by level of political efficacy among Black early adolescents in the Midwest United States ( N  = 118). I also investigate whether youth social responsibility relates to civic engagement through political efficacy beliefs among this population. Findings show that political efficacy is related to four domains of civic engagement: helping, community action, formal political action, and activism. Political efficacy moderates the relationship between youth social responsibility and activism, such that the relationship between youth social responsibility and activism is stronger for Black youth with higher political efficacy beliefs. There is also an indirect effect of youth social responsibility on the relationship between political efficacy and civic engagement.

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Hope, E.C. Preparing to Participate: The Role of Youth Social Responsibility and Political Efficacy on Civic Engagement for Black Early Adolescents. Child Ind Res 9 , 609–630 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-015-9331-5

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Accepted : 01 September 2015

Published : 08 September 2015

Issue Date : September 2016

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-015-9331-5

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SDGs Youth Leadership and Social Responsibility Education

Global duck (qingdao) education technology co., ltd ( private sector ), #sdgaction44147.

• Description
• SDGs & Targets
• SDG 14 targets covered
• Deliverables & timeline
• Resources mobilized
• Progress reports

The initiative aims to enhance the social responsibility and leadership of youth to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). The social responsibility and leadership to achieve the SDGs mainly refer to the sustainable development awareness, innovation and entrepreneurship ability and social influence. This initiative focuses on guiding youth to contribute to the zero Carbon, ecological civilization, rural revitalization, social equity and common prosperity. Hence, this initiative construct an international alliance to provide youth with more opportunities to take SDGs social innovation action by cooperating, encouraging and empowering different public stakeholders (government, enterprise, school and campus, non-governmental organization, community and family, individual, etc). Specifically, it will provide systematic SDGs training for the members in the alliance to jointly improve youth SDGs social responsibility and leadership. Meanwhile, it will constructs professional standards to support different stakeholders to design, monitor and evaluate the SDGs education in the various fields. Additionally, it will establish comprehensive certification and incentive systems of SDGs social responsibility and leadership for trainers and youths to create a positive SDGs acting culture. Specifically, in order to effectively achieve this initiative, it sets up an International education alliance which is governed by SDGs Youth Education Management Committee (SYEMC). The details are as follows.

1.Sustainable development promoting institutions (including non-governmental organizations), such as Youth Sharing Ecology Education Alliance which aims at leading college students to carry out urban and rural public welfare SDGs education projects. The SYEMC will invite China Green University Network, Ecological civilization education research branch of Chinese society of Higher Education and other authorities to promote and supervise this initiative.

2.Enterprise that promotes SDGs, ESG and CSR. For example, Global Duck (Qingdao) Education Technology Co., Ltd and Beijing Yanda Jinghua Education Technology Co., Ltd are two enterprises aiming at promoting SDGs education and ecological civilization education by STEAM courses. Qingdao GLOREES Investment & Consulting Co., Ltd is an international ESG investment enterprise, and it also provides one-stop emission reduction schemes for education, agriculture, tourism and other industries.

3.Campus and School (including teachers and students). The SYEMC invites Asian classic sustainable development schools and campus to join, which can provide front-line teaching and scientific research achievements. Most of them are come from the functional departments, laboratories and student associations, such as Green Oil Environmental Protection Association of China University of Petroleum (East China) which has been engaged in the field of youth environmental protection education for about ten years and gains the the authoritative award in the field of environmental protection for Chinese youth.

4.Community and family. As the important groups to educate youth, community and family are invited to share educational cases and life feeling about youth which will directly reflects the improve effect of SDGs leadership and social responsibility.

5.Experts from government, UN System, universities and non-governmental organizations. Experts will put forward suggestions for the implementation and effect evaluation of this initiative, and review the monthly report. The progress report of this initiative will not only submit to the UNDESA regularly but also share on the public media.

In order to give full play to the important role of youth in achieving SDGs, this initiative will take four methodologies: establish the SDGs International Competition and Communication Platform (SICCP) aiming at educating youth leadership and social responsibility in global governance practice; establish SDGs Standard Instructor Training Mechanism (SSITM) for enterprises, schools and campus, NGOs, communities, families and other stakeholders aiming at training more persons to jointly carry out SDGs youth education in various scenarios; establish SDGs Standard Youth Action Authentication System (SSYAAS) aiming at quantifying the effectiveness of actions and encourage youth to assume social responsibility; develop the SDGs Immersive Social Responsibility and Leadership Education System (SISRLES) based on the STEM and PBL for urban and rural youth aiming at promoting basic understanding of SDGs;

1.SDGs International Competition and Communication Platform. The theme of this competition is the game-changing solution innovation of SDGs which is divided into four levels, covering a period of 8 months every year. Many social enterprises and NGOs are invited as providers of practical competition cases. The SICCP will provide SDGs information package, SDGs evaluation tools, SDGs training camp, SDGs competition manual, long-term cooperation of award-winning projects and some other supports. The SICCP is open to youth around the world that put more emphasis on leading youth to influence more groups to achieve SDGs in daily life by improving their own SDG leadership and social responsibility. Meanwhile, it will establish the global and regional annual rankings to select the top 100 youth with the greatest SDGs leadership. Besides, the SICCP provides the platform for global youth to exchange and cooperate SDGs practice in various regions, and promotes the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.

2.SDGs Standard Instructor Training Mechanism for enterprises, schools and campus, NGOs, communities, families and other stakeholders. The SSITM will set up three-level certification for education instructors in different industries according to the learning duration and mode to evaluates and authorizes qualified institutions as training partners to jointly conduct training for SDGs youth leadership and social responsibility. And it will grant project certification to compliant instructors. For example, SDGs Social Responsible Enterprise, SDGs Educational Influence School and Campus, SDGs Leadership Potential Community or Family, SDGs research center, SDGs immersive trainer, etc.

3.SDGs Standard Youth Action Authentication System. This system will provide youth with the tools for recording SDGs action plan, duration and effect. Through systematic certification, youth will be given the ranking of SDGs leadership and social responsibility. And youth will have the special certificate of SDGs action. Meanwhile, youth can obtain “green energy points” through the authentication, which can exchange series of ecological products and SDGs creative products.

4.SDGs Immersive Social Responsibility and Leadership Education System. This system will consist of comics and animation education software and hardware, which caters to the interest of youth. This initiative plans to develop hundreds of SDGs leadership and social responsibility courses which all have special certification label and study certificates.

1.Global Duck (Qingdao) Education Technology Co., Ltd, a social enterprise focusing on Ecological Civilization Education.

2.Qingdao GLOREES Investment & Consulting Co., Ltd, an enterprise focusing on ESG investment. 3.Green Oil Environmental Protection Association of China University of Petroleum (East China), a well-known college environmental protection association.

4.Youth Sharing Ecology Education Alliance, an active educational communication network.

5.Beijing Yanda Jinghua Education Technology Co., Ltd, an international K-12 education consulting company.

6.Qingdao West Coast New Area Wisdom Future Public Welfare Student Service Center, a non-governmental organization that has been committed to achieving high-quality education for many years.

Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer

1.SDGs International Competition and Communication Platform (SICCP) includes four levels of competitions: primary school level, junior middle school level, senior high school level and campus level. Each level will four-round competitions. The competition will be jointly organized by the government, enterprises, schools and non-governmental organization. The contestants will receive a series of SDGs online and offline professional training and be required to complete the learning content for a specified period of time. Participants who complete the competition according to the regulations will receive gold, silver and bronze awards which refer to different ranges of support.

2.SDGs Standard Instructor Training Mechanism (SSITM) offers courses on six topics: “Significance and Case Interpretation of SDGs”, “SDGs, Ecological Civilization, Rural Revitalization and Common Prosperity”, “Sustainable Development Planning of Corporate Social Responsibility”, “Incentive Strategies for Carbon Reduction Behavior in Citizen Production and Consumption”, “Teaching Practice of Youth Sustainable Development Career Planning” and “Circular Economy and Zero Carbon Goal”. These courses will be delivered by experts from SYEMC and international leading institutions in the sustainable development fields. These courses will formulate curriculum standards, instructor qualification certification and teaching mode for entities to participate in youth SDGs education, promote cooperation between entities and schools, communities and families, and enhance the global influence of SDGs education. The total course hours are 180 hours, which is divided into online, offline and practical parts. The SSITM will issue junior, intermediate and advanced instructor certificates according to the scope of study (compulsory and elective courses), learning hours (60 hours, 120 hours and 180 hours) and examination results (70% of the exam scores are qualified). Each certificate will have a unique number and one-year validity. Meanwhile, this initiative will authorize SDGs leadership and social responsibility education centers for entities which have have a certain number of certified instructors that they can independently carry out SDGs education activities.

3.SDGs Standard Youth Action Authentication System (SSYAAP) mainly provides four functions: release SDGs project, identify action duration, quantify carbon reduction effect and exchange ecological products. It provides youth with more practice opportunities to participate in SDGs projects in life and sets up a series of incentive behaviors to enable youth to lead more people to achieve SDGs. Meanwhile, the SSYAAP will set up local SDGs experience areas to provide support for offline communication activities of youth. SDGs Immersive Social Responsibility and Leadership Education System (SISRLES) offers PBL courses on six subject for youth. Every subject provides three levels of courses and eight immersive teaching methods of methods according to the age group of youth (6-12,12-18,18-22). The course has six characteristics: systematization, localization, immersive, practical, flipped and animation. The courses incorporate the concept of social innovation and selects the actual social development cases as the content, which not only efficiently improve the leadership and social responsibility but also achieve the 21st Century 5C Model of Core Literacy. The course adopts online and offline teaching strategies which are applicable to school-based education, community education, family education and camp education.

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day

Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)

By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable

Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable

By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance

Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services

Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, ( a ) with legally recognized documentation, and ( b ) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure

By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters

Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP)

Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies

Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions

Total official development assistance grants from all donors that focus on poverty reduction as a share of the recipient country's gross national income

Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection)

Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions

Pro-poor public social spending

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round

Prevalence of undernourishment

Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)

By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons

Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age

Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight)

Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)

Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size

Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status

By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality

Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture

By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed

Number of ( a ) plant and ( b ) animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or long-term conservation facilities

Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk of extinction

The agriculture orientation index for government expenditures

Total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector

Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round

Agricultural export subsidies

Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility

Indicator of food price anomalies

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes

Proportion of children and young people ( a ) in grades 2/3; ( b ) at the end of primary; and ( c ) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex

Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education

Proportion of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex

Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex

By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex

By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill

Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated

By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy

Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional ( a ) literacy and ( b ) numeracy skills, by sex

By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in ( a ) national education policies; ( b ) curricula; ( c ) teacher education and ( d ) student assessment

Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all

Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service

Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of study

By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education level

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing

Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate

Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically

Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)

By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)

( a ) Damage to critical infrastructure and ( b ) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters

By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management

Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities

Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)

Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that ( a ) respond to population dynamics; ( b ) ensure balanced territorial development; and ( c ) increase local fiscal space

By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030

Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries

Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP

Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP

By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses

( a ) Food loss index and ( b ) food waste index

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment

( a ) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and ( b ) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment

By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

National recycling rate, tons of material recycled

Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans

By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in ( a ) national education policies; ( b ) curricula; ( c ) teacher education; and ( d ) student assessment

Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production

Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita)

Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability

Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities

Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025

Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

( a ) Index of coastal eutrophication; and ( b ) plastic debris density

By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans

Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas

Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels

By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics

By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information

By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation

Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism

Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries

Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries

Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets

Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries

Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want"

Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements

By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world

By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development

Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species

Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed

Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products

By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species

By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts

( a ) Number of countries that have established national targets in accordance with or similar to Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in their national biodiversity strategy and action plans and the progress reported towards these targets; and ( b ) integration of biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting

Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems

( a ) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and ( b ) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments

Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation

Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection

Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries

Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources

Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources 

Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress

Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries

Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries

Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism

 Fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed

Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies

Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries

Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020

Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports

Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access

Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States

Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence

Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development

Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development 

Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

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Developmental Change in Social Responsibility during Adolescence: An Ecological Perspective

Laura wray-lake.

University of Rochester

Amy K. Syvertsen

Search Institute

Constance A. Flanagan

University of Wisconsin – Madison

Associated Data

Social responsibility can be defined as a set of prosocial values representing personal commitments to contribute to community and society. Little is known about developmental change – and predictors of that change – in social responsibility during adolescence. The present study used an accelerated longitudinal research design to investigate the developmental trajectory of social responsibility values and ecological assets across family, school, community, and peer settings that predict these values. Data come from a three-year study of 3,683 U.S. adolescents enrolled in upper-level elementary, middle school, and high schools in rural, semi-urban, and urban communities. Social responsibility values significantly decreased from age 9 to 16 before leveling off in later adolescence. Family compassion messages and democratic climate, school solidarity, community connectedness, and trusted friendship positively predicted within-person change in adolescents’ social responsibility values. These findings held after accounting for other individual-level and demographic factors and provide support for the role of ecological assets in adolescents’ social responsibility development. In addition, fair society beliefs and volunteer experience had positive between- and within-person associations with social responsibility values. The manuscript discusses theoretical and practical implications of the conclusion that declines in ecological assets may partly explain age-related declines in social responsibility values.

Scholars across disciplines consider social responsibility to be a reflection of concern for the greater good and the welfare of others that extends beyond personal wants, needs, or gains ( Gallay, 2006 ). When examined from a developmental perspective, social responsibility is recognized as an important indicator of psychosocial maturity ( Greenberger, 1984 ), a marker of well-being ( Rossi, 2001 ), an outgrowth of positive youth development ( Lerner, Dowling, & Anderson, 2003 ), a motivator of prosocial and civic actions ( Wray-Lake & Syvertsen, 2011 ), and a crucial element of a vibrant civic society ( Youniss & Yates, 1997 ). Despite its relevance, very little research has focused on the development of social responsibility during adolescence.

Viewed through the lens of relational developmental systems (RDS) theory, development is considered plastic, and adaptive development results from mutually beneficial and reinforcing exchanges between an individual and his/her environment that unfold over time ( Lerner, Lerner, Bowers, & Geldhof, 2015 ; Overton, 2013 ). Applied to social responsibility, this perspective suggests that adolescents’ concerns for the greater good likely exhibit plasticity, and change in concert with experiences of support and socialization across settings. In the present study, we examined a subset of positive contextual and relational features of socializing systems – referred to here as ecological assets ( Benson, Scales, & Syvertsen, 2011 ; Lerner & Benson, 2003 ). The aims of this study were three-fold: (a) document the developmental pattern of change in adolescents’ social responsibility values, (b) examine the role of ecological assets in predicting change over time in social responsibility values, and (c) examine the role of select individual-level factors (e.g., demographic characteristics, beliefs about society, volunteer experience, substance use, experiencing a school transition) in predicting social responsibility values.

Development of Social Responsibility Values

We define social responsibility as a set of values or personal commitments to improve one’s community and society. These values are considered part of a prosocial orientation and an integral component of youth civic engagement ( Flanagan, 2003 ; Sherrod & Lauckhardt, 2009 ; Wray-Lake & Syvertsen, 2011 ). Value constructs are higher-order beliefs that guide attitudes and behaviors (cf. Hitlin & Piliavin, 2004 ). Social responsibility values predict a range of prosocial behaviors such as volunteering ( Pratt, Hunsberger, Pancer, & Alisat, 2003 ), voting ( Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006 ), political activism ( Mayton & Furnham, 1994 ), environmental behaviors ( Verplanken & Holland, 2002 ), and lower substance use ( Wray-Lake et al., 2012 ). Values have traditionally been considered stable ( Schwartz, 1992 ), but that conclusion is based on research conducted with adults. Values are widely understood to be forming during adolescence ( Flanagan, 2003 ), with empirical evidence suggesting developmental change in youth’s achievement and work values across the second decade of life ( Johnson, 2005 ; Wigfield & Cambria, 2010 ). Constructs that overlap with social responsibility like sympathy, prosocial reasoning, and prosocial behaviors exhibit mean-level changes during adolescence (e.g., Carlo, Crockett, Randall, & Roesch, 2007 ; Kanacri et al., 2014 ; Malti, Eisenberg, Kim, & Buchmann, 2013 ). Thus, age-related change in social responsibility values during adolescence is plausible, but not has been studied. Research on adolescents’ social responsibility has mostly been cross-sectional and considered social responsibility a predictor of other outcomes, and most of the research on value change has focused on adults. Thus, it is necessary to draw from related lines of literature to generate theory about the development of social responsibility values. We propose and test two competing hypotheses regarding change in social responsibility across adolescence: normative growth and middle adolescence decline.

Normative growth hypothesis

Gains that adolescents experience in cognitive, identity, and autonomy development may parallel or portend corresponding increases in social responsibility values. For example, perspective taking and abstract thinking normatively increase from early to late adolescence ( Murphy, Rowe, Ramani, & Silverman, 2014 ; Van der Graaff et al., 2014 ), and these capacities are essential to have before one can prioritize the importance of helping others and contributing to society. As identity exploration normatively increases across adolescence, youth increasingly explore their views about others and the world ( Flanagan, 2004 ). Importantly, values constitute part of one’s identity content ( Hitlin, 2003 ): Social responsibility has been strongly positively linked to moral identity ( Hardy, Walker, Olsen, Woodbury, & Hickman, 2014 ), which is thought to become more consolidated in late adolescence ( Hardy & Carlo, 2011 ). Increased decision-making autonomy across adolescence may also underlie age-related growth in social responsibility, as autonomy enables adolescents to proactively formulate and act on their values ( Flanagan, 2003 ; Wray-Lake & Syvertsen, 2011 ). In sum, research on adolescents’ cognitive, identity, and autonomy development suggests the possibility of age-related increases in adolescents’ social responsibility. A similar argument has been posited for prosocial behavior, with some studies showing expected increases from childhood to adolescence ( Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2007 ).

Middle adolescence decline hypothesis

Despite the reasons to expect incremental increases in social responsibility across adolescence, evidence on declining perceptions of contextual supports and sociocognitive reasoning in middle adolescence suggests that social responsibility may also dip during these years. From a contextual perspective, middle adolescence is a time when parent-adolescent conflict increases ( Shanahan, McHale, Crouter, & Osgood, 2007 ) and schools are generally perceived by students as less friendly ( Eccles et al., 1993 ; Wang & Dishion, 2012 ). From a sociocognitive perspective, a small body of literature points to a U-shaped trend in moral development such that moral choices are higher in early and later adolescents compared to middle adolescents ( Eisenberg, 1990 ; Nucci & Turiel, 2009 ), and some find that youth in middle adolescence reason more selfishly about helping ( Smetana et al., 2009 ). Middle adolescents experience declines in social trust (positive beliefs in humanity; Flanagan & Stout, 2010 ); public health beliefs (endorsements of collective responsibility to promote health) are also lowest in middle adolescence compared to early and late adolescence ( Flanagan, Stout, & Gallay, 2008 ). Thus, middle adolescence could be a time of declining social responsibility, as families and schools (institutions in which youth are likely to learn social responsibility values) are perceived as more unfriendly and middle adolescents prioritize personal issues over social and moral concerns. Overall, the developmental literature offers competing perspectives on how adolescents’ social responsibility values change with age. By documenting age-related change in social responsibility in a large three-wave longitudinal study of adolescents ages 9 to 18, our work could add evidence to support one of these views. Given RDS theory’s emphasis on plasticity ( Overton, 2013 ), examining age-related changes in social responsibility offers a significant step forward for developmental theory in this domain.

Ecological Assets in Relation to Social Responsibility

From a RDS theoretical perspective, optimal development unfolds as a result of reciprocal and mutually beneficial interactions between individuals and their contexts ( Lerner et al., 2015 ). Likewise, theory and research on positive youth development (PYD) has been instrumental in specifying ecological assets that are important for optimal development in adolescence ( Benson et al., 2011 ; Eccles & Gootman, 2002 ; Theokas & Lerner, 2006 ). Ecological assets – defined here as social resources including supportive relationships and bonds with others – are key ingredients of settings that foster positive youth development ( Eccles & Gootman, 2002 ). The social capital perspective similarly posits that bonds of trust and support built within social networks are instrumental for fostering individuals’ health, well-being, and civic beliefs and actions ( Coleman, 1988 ; Lenzi, Vieno, Pastore, & Santinello, 2013 ; Putnam, 2001 ; Rothon, Goodwin, & Stansfeld, 2012 ). Social capital theory articulates a mechanism for this link, such that positive bonds and trusting relationships engender positive feelings and the desire to reciprocate through community contributions ( Coleman, 1988 ; Putnam, 2001 ). Thus, PYD and social capital theoretical perspectives align to suggest that relationships characterized by support, mutual respect, and trust are the ecological assets that build adolescents’ social responsibility ( Gunnoe, Hetherington, & Reiss, 1999 ). Although little research has focused on social responsibility per se, a wealth of relevant empirical evidence suggests that ecological assets in family, school, and community settings foster prosocial and civic development.

A family climate of respect and trust plays a vital role in prosocial and civic development. For example, democratic parenting and positive family bonds have been positively linked to social responsibility ( Gunnoe et al., 1999 ; Lenzi, Vieno, Santinello, Nation, & Voight, 2013 ) and more broadly to prosocial values ( Kasser, Ryan, Zax, & Sameroff, 1995 ; Kanacri et al., 2014 ; Pratt et al., 2003 ) and civic engagement ( Bebiroglu, Geldhof, Pinderhughes, Phelps, & Lerner, 2013 ; Duke, Skay, Pettingell, & Borowsky, 2009 ; Fletcher, Elder, & Mekos, 2000 ). Parental communication about compassion, fairness, and equality has also been associated with prosocial and civic development ( Carlo, Mestre, Samper, Tur, & Armenta, 2011 ; Flanagan, Bowes, Jonsson, Csapo, & Sheblanova, 1998 ; Wray-Lake & Flanagan, 2012 ).

In schools, feeling bonded to others and a school climate of trust and respect positively predict civic commitments ( Ballard, Caccavale, & Buchanan, 2014 ; Campbell, 2008 ; Flanagan, Cumsille, Gill, & Gallay, 2007 ; Kahne & Sporte, 2008 ; Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013 ). A similar story emerges with community or neighborhood bonds: when adolescents reported positive social connections and trust in neighbors, they also reported higher civic engagement (e.g., Cicognani et al., 2008 ; Duke et al., 2009 ; Lenzi, Vieno, Pastore, et al., 2013 ; Zaff, Malanchuk, & Eccles, 2008 ). Although the role of supportive peer relationships has been relatively less well studied in prosocial and civic domains ( Flanagan & Syvertsen, 2006 ), positive connections with peers have been associated with prosocial behavior ( Padilla-Walker, Fraser, Black, & Bean, 2014 ) and civic engagement ( Duke et al., 2009 ; Zaff et al., 2008 ).

Thus, extant evidence lends support for the idea that relationships characterized by democratic climates of respect and positive bonds with others in family, school, community, and peer settings promote social responsibility. However, relatively few studies investigate multiple contexts simultaneously (but see Duke et al., 2009 ; Kahne & Sporte, 2008 ; Lenzi, Vieno, Pastore et al., 2013 ; Theokas & Lerner, 2006 ; Zaff et al., 2008 ). Examining multiple ecological assets offers a more rigorous test of the role of each asset in social responsibility development by accounting for variance predicted by other assets. This approach is important for ensuring that the role of one asset is not due to the presence of others; failing to account for multiple assets simultaneously could overestimate the role of a given asset. Examining assets simultaneously can determine whether particular assets are more central to social responsibility development and also whether some assets have more stable, time-invariant associations with adolescents’ social responsibility while other assets predict change in social responsibility over time.

A RDS theoretical perspective calls for examining change in contexts in relation to individual change ( Lerner et al., 2015 ). Examining change in adolescents’ perceptions of ecological assets in relation to changes in social responsibility values advances developmental theory by endeavoring to explain intraindividual change. As alluded to above, ecological assets may change across adolescence. For example, longitudinal data have demonstrated declines in parent-adolescent warmth from ages 10 to 16, with some recovery later ( Shanahan et al., 2007 ), and school climate and peer supports decline during the middle school years ( Wang & Dishion, 2012 ). Family compassion messages also decline across adolescence ( Wray-Lake, Flanagan, & Maggs, 2012 ). Notably, Mahatmya and Lohman (2012) found that longitudinal increases in family and school ecological resources during adolescence predicted more civic engagement in young adulthood. Thus, adolescence may be a time of change in ecological assets, and these changes may correspond to changes in adolescents’ social responsibility values.

Individual Beliefs, Behaviors, and Experiences

A comprehensive approach to understanding social responsibility development requires examining ecological assets alongside other individual beliefs, behaviors, and experiences that may predict adolescents’ social responsibility values. Of particular interest to this study are adolescents’ beliefs about societal fairness, prosocial (e.g., volunteerism) and antisocial (e.g., substance use) behaviors, and school transition experiences. Beyond accounting for these factors to better understand the role of ecological assets, these individual factors are also substantively important to examine in relation to social responsibility values. Furthermore, our examination of fair society beliefs, volunteerism, and substance use extends previous literature by considering them as time-varying predictors of social responsibility values and thus assessing whether change in these factors is associated with change in social responsibility values.

Beliefs that society is fair are considered a precursor to civic engagement, as these beliefs constitute affective bonds or “ties that bind” individuals to their society ( Easton & Dennis, 1969 ; Flanagan, 2013 ; Flanagan et al., 2007 ). Indeed, fair society beliefs positively predicted civic commitments (a measure very similar to social responsibility values) in a cross-sectional sample ( Flanagan et al., 2007 ). Meta-analyses on service-learning indicate that adolescents’ participation in community service increases prosocial attitudes toward others ( Conway, Amel, & Gerwien, 2009 ; van Goethem, Hoof, Castro, Aken, & Hart, 2014 ). Through volunteering in the community, adolescents may be learning what it means to take responsibility for others and commit to improving one’s community ( Youniss & Yates, 1997 ). Furthermore, according to self-perception theory ( Bem, 1972 ), individuals come to know their own attitudes and values by inferring them through observations of their own behavior. This idea may apply to the link from volunteering to social responsibility values, and is also an impetus for examining the link from alcohol, tobacco, and drug use to social responsibility. Prior research has found negative cross-sectional and longitudinal links from social responsibility to substance use ( Roberts & Bogg, 2004 ; Wray-Lake et al., 2012 ), and these constructs may be reciprocally linked.

Transitions to middle school put adolescents at risk for a variety of disruptions such as declines in academic competencies and motivation, self-esteem, and mental health (e.g., Eccles & Midgley, 1989 ; Rudolph, Lambert, Clark, & Kurlakowsky, 2001 ). Transitions to high school involve many of the same risks ( Barber & Olsen, 2004 ; Newman, Newman, Griffen, O’Connor, & Spas, 2007 ). If adolescents perceive school climates as more unfriendly and as placing more emphasis on competition and achievement after transitioning to middle or high school, they may also perceive less support for prioritizing concerns for others.

Current Study

A primary aim of this study was to document age-related change in social responsibility values across adolescence. Two rival hypotheses – a normative growth hypothesis and a middle adolescence decline hypothesis – are put forth and tested here. A second aim was to understand ecological assets in family, school, community, and peer contexts as predictors of social responsibility values. Entering ecological assets as time-varying predictors of change in social responsibility values, we hypothesized that change in ecological assets across these settings would positively covary with change in social responsibility values. Third, select individual-level factors were studied to gain a more comprehensive understanding of social responsibility development: Adolescents’ fair society beliefs, volunteerism, substance use, and experience of a school transition were entered as time-varying predictors of change in social responsibility. We hypothesized that fair society beliefs and volunteerism would predict higher social responsibility, whereas substance use and school transitions would predict lower social responsibility over time. Gender, race-ethnicity, parental education, and family structure were also included as demographic correlates of social responsibility values. Given extant literature showing females are higher on prosocial values and behaviors (e.g., Hardy & Carlo, 2005 ; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005 ), females were expected to report higher social responsibility values. The literature provides no clear expectations regarding other demographic factors. Demographic indicators were also tested as moderators of age-related change in social responsibility to determine whether social responsibility values trajectories differed across subgroups. These moderation tests were exploratory, conducted to determine whether the trajectory of social responsibility values was generalizable across subgroups.

Data come from the Social Responsibility and Prevention Project, a three-year longitudinal study aimed at understanding adolescents’ social responsibility and intentions to intervene in the alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use of friends. An accelerated longitudinal cohort research design was used. Adolescents in grades 5–12 were surveyed annually for three years in social studies classrooms across eight school districts in rural, semi-urban, and urban communities in a northeastern and midwestern state. Adolescents and parents actively consented to participation, resulting in a Wave 1 adolescent response rate of 79%. In Wave 2, researchers surveyed adolescents who had participated in the first wave and were still in the same school district, as well as recruited new students, resulting in a Wave 2 response rate of 54%. In Wave 3, only students who previously participated in either Wave 1 and/or Wave 2 and were still in the same school district were sought for the study, resulting in a Wave 3 response rate of 65%. In total, 4,155 adolescents completed at least one wave, 2,068 completed at least two waves, and 838 completed all three waves.

SAS PROC MIXED limits models to complete cases on time-invariant variables (i.e., our demographic indicators), giving us an analysis sample size of 3,683 adolescents. Adolescents ranged in age from 9 to 18 ( M = 13.7) at Wave 1, and 55.4% were female. The racial-ethnic breakdown of the sample was 71.8% White, 14.9% Black, 5.7% Hispanic, and 1.5% Asian with 2.9% identifying as another race-ethnicity and 3.3% choosing not to self-identify. The sample varied in terms of parental education: 5.2% of mothers and 6.4% fathers had not graduated from high school; 43.5% of mothers and 43.1% of fathers had a high school degree only; 51.2% of mothers and 50.4% of fathers had attended some college.

Measures were assessed at all three waves using the same items. Unless otherwise noted, response options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Table 1 provides descriptive statistics and Table 2 shows the bivariate correlations among social responsibility values, ecological assets, and individual factors from Wave 1.

Descriptive Statistics on Individual Factors, Ecological Assets, and Social Responsibility Values

Note . For continuous variables, response options ranged from 1 to 5, except for substance use, which was summed and ranged from 1 to 18.

Correlations between Continuous Wave 1 Individual Factors, Ecological Assets, and Social Responsibility Values

Social responsibility values

Adolescents’ social responsibility values were assessed by averaging six items (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .88, .88, .88) adapted from the work of Schwartz (1992) and Whitbeck, Simons, Conger, and Lorenz (1989) and used in previous studies (e.g., Flanagan & Tucker, 1999 ) and began with the stem “It is very important to me…”. Items included: “to help those who are less fortunate,” “to help people in my community,” “to serve my country,” “to help my society,” “to help other students in school,” and “to make new students feel welcome.”

Ecological assets

We measured adolescents’ perceptions of ecological assets across family, school, community, and peer contexts, focusing on social resources and relationships.

Ecological assets in the family were measured with two distinct scales, confirmed by a factor analysis. Family democratic climate was adapted from Fuligni and Eccles (1993) and used previously ( Wray-Lake & Flanagan, 2012 ). Four items assessed the extent to which the family climate prioritized respect and trust (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .79, .79, .81). Items included: “I can talk to my parents about what is bothering me,” “My parents let me have a say, even if they disagree,” “My parents respect my opinions,” and “My parents trust me to do what they expect without checking up on me.” Family compassion messages were loosely adapted from Katz and Hass’ (1988) Humanitarian-Egalitarianism scale and used previously ( Flanagan et al., 1998 ; Flanagan & Tucker, 1999 ; Wray-Lake, Flanagan, & Maggs, 2012 ). Five items measured adolescents’ perceptions of parental messages about treating others with equality and respect (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .80, .82, .84). Items began with “My parents tell me…”, and content included: “respect people no matter who they are,” “not to judge people before you get to know them,” “treat everyone equally,” “stand up for others, not just yourself,” and “be helpful to others, especially the less fortunate.”

School solidarity and school democratic climate scales were confirmed as distinct by factor analyses and prior work ( Flanagan & Stout, 2010 ; Syvertsen et al., 2009 ). School solidarity taps students’ sense of belonging to school and was assessed by averaging four items (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .82, .83, .84): “Students feel like they are an important part of the school,” “Everyone tries to keep the school looking good,” “Most students take pride in our school,” and “Most students seem to care about each other, even people they don’t know.” School democratic climate was measured by averaging three items (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .76, .83, .84): “In my school, students can disagree with teachers as long as they are respectful,” “In my school, students have an opportunity to debate and discuss issues,” and “In my school, students are encouraged to voice their opinions, even if they are different from what most people think.” The last item was excluded from the middle school survey in Waves 1 and 2; the scale average was taken from available items at each wave.

Community connectedness was measured with 8 items used in earlier studies that focused on adolescents’ perceptions of trust, bonding, social support, and inclusive relationships in the neighborhood and include aspects of bonding and bridging social capital ( Flanagan et al., 2007 ; Flanagan, Kim, Collura, & Kopish, 2014). Items were: “Most people trust each other,” “People feel safe,” “Most people try to make this a good place to live,” “Adults are nice to young people,” “When someone moves here, people are nice to them,” “If someone has a problem, they can usually count on others to help them out,” “In general, people in my community work together to solve problems,” and “There are adults I could talk to about something important.” Alphas across waves were .85, .86, and .88.

Trusted friendship was measured with a four-item scale, previously validated in Syvertsen, Flanagan, and Stout (2009) : “I have at least one good friend can talk to,” “I have friends I can trust to keep secret,” “I have friends I can trust to keep promises,” and “My friends mean a lot to me, and I would do anything for them” (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .75, .81, .83).

Individual factors

Fair society beliefs , a 3-item scale, assessed adolescents’ beliefs that America offers equal opportunity regardless of background ( Flanagan et al., 2007 ; Phinney, DuPont, Espinosa, Revill, & Sanders, 1994 ). Alphas across waves were .81, .85, and .86 with the items: “In America you have an equal chance no matter where you came from or what race you are,” “America is basically a fair society where everyone has an equal chance to get ahead,” and “Basically people get fair treatment in America, no matter who they are.” Adolescents’ volunteer experience was measured with a single item at each wave. Adolescents reported any volunteer or community service work, yes (1) or no (0). Frequency of adolescents’ use of cigarettes; beer, wine, or liquor; and marijuana-other drugs was reported on a 6-point scale ranging from never (1), quit, don’t do it anymore (2), once or twice ever (3), once or twice in the last month (4), once or twice in the last week (5), and more than twice a week (6). Reliability was adequate across waves (Wave 1, 2, 3 α = .78, .78, .78), and responses were summed across substances.

Two separate dichotomous variables represented whether adolescents transitioned from elementary to middle school ( no = 0; yes = 1) and from middle school to high school ( no = 0; yes = 1). There were three possible patterns for each transition variable, as the transition could have occurred at Wave 1 (1, 0, 0), Wave 2 (0, 1, 0), or Wave 3 (0, 0, 1). Variables were mutually exclusive for all but four students who made both transitions across 3 years because they skipped a grade.

Demographic characteristics

Demographic data were taken from Wave 1 adolescent report; missing values were replaced with parent report and later waves where possible to minimize missing data. Demographics included gender ( female = 0, male = 1) and race-ethnicity (dummy coded as Black, Hispanic, and Other Race; White as the reference group). Parental education was measured with the average of mother and father education (or, one parent if the other was missing). Response categories were less than high school (1), high school graduate (2), and at least some college (3). Family structure was assessed with a dichotomous variable for two-parent household (1= yes , 0 = no ).

Missing Data

Attrition analyses examined differences between adolescents who completed all three waves compared to adolescents missing at Waves 2 or 3 (see Online Appendix ). Adolescents who dropped out at Wave 2 or 3 were more likely to be older, White, have less educated parents, use more substances, and report lower fair society beliefs, lower social responsibility values, and lower ecological assets of all types except for school democratic climate. SAS PROC MIXED handles missing data with a likelihood-based estimation method that uses all available data for analyses. This strategy assumes data are missing at random (MAR). In line with the MAR assumption, predictors of attrition were included in the full model.

Analytic Plan

Multilevel modeling was conducted using SAS PROC MIXED 9.3 with occasions nested within persons. Models were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood estimation (REML). First, unconditional growth curve models were estimated to identify the best-fitting developmental pattern of social responsibility values across adolescence. Linear and quadratic fixed effects models were sequentially tested, as was the inclusion of random intercepts and slopes. The best-fitting fixed effects were determined by statistical significance of model parameters, and fit of random effects was determined by comparing log likelihood values using a chi-square difference test. Given the accelerated longitudinal cohort design, i.e., participants of wide-ranging ages (9 to 18) followed over three years, models included between-person (level 2) age parameters to reflect cohort effects. Between-person (level 2) age parameters are individuals’ means for age, centered at age 14 (the mean age across the sample); these predict variance in social responsibility due to being in an older or younger age group across the study. Within-person (level 1) age effects refer to within-person or intraindividual change over time.

After finding the best-fitting unconditional growth curve, a model with demographic factors and other covariates was used to estimate between-person (level 2) effects. Then, all predictors were simultaneously entered as within- and between-person (level 1 and 2) predictors into a full model. Including means of all time-varying predictors at level 2 eliminates potential bias in estimation of level 1 effects; these level 2 means are substantively interpreted similar to cross-sectional regression parameters ( Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002 ). School transition variables were only included at the within-person level (level 1); as almost every student had one transition, the level 2 mean is the same across individuals and therefore not meaningful. Within-person (level 1) predictors were group-mean centered and thus predict variation over time above or below one’s own mean level of social responsibility. Supplemental analyses examined growth curves for each ecological asset to better determine whether ecological assets and social responsibility values exhibit similar trajectories for the sample on average.

Unconditional Growth Curve

In the unconditional social responsibility growth curve model, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = .44) revealed substantial variance at each level; 44% of the variance in social responsibility values was between-person and 56% of the variance was within-person.

Fixed effects of age were tested in linear and quadratic models. The best-fitting model had a positive quadratic age slope. A random intercept improved fit of the model, but a random slope did not. In other words, an intercept was estimated for each individual, but the shape of the trajectory was similar across individuals.

Social responsibility values significantly decreased from age 9 to 16 (γ linear age = −.07, p < .001) and then leveled off (γ quadratic age = .03, p < .001). A significant negative between-person (level 2) quadratic term indicated that social responsibility showed less positive quadratic increase for participants who started the study at older ages (γ = −.01, p = .002), meaning that adolescents who were older did not recover from the downward trend to the same extent. Figure 1 illustrates the growth curve and shows adequate fit between the growth curve and raw data.

Note . Social responsibility values scale ranged from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating higher self-reported social responsibility values. The shorter gray lines in the graph are raw means plotted by age, each with three time points. The predicted values growth curve is extrapolated from the three-waves of data provided by multiple cohorts. The twenty-five 9-year olds at wave 1 and six adolescents who turned 19 during the 12 th grade were included in analyses but excluded from the graph, given that they were unlikely to be representative of their age group.

Demographic Characteristics

Demographic variables were next added to the model. Males reported lower social responsibility values than females (γ = −.21, p <.001). Compared to White adolescents, Black adolescents reported lower social responsibility values (γ = −.16, p < .001). Higher parental education was associated with higher levels of social responsibility values (γ = .10, p <.001). Adolescents residing in two-parent households also reported higher social responsibility values (γ = .06, p = .02). Age × demographics interactions were conducted to determine demographic factors were associated with different linear or quadratic patterns of change. Separate models tested age interactions with gender, ethnicity, parental education, and two-parent household. After a Bonferroni correction (12 interactions, p = .004), no interactions were significant.

Full Predictor Model

A full model including ecological assets and individual factors alongside age and demographics was estimated (see Table 3 ). As a reminder, predictors were entered at level 1 and level 2 of the model and therefore predict within-person change and between-person differences, respectively, in social responsibility values.

Full Predictor Model for Adolescents’ Social Responsibility Values

Note . Model also includes a random intercept.

Regarding the family context, family compassion messages had a positive between-person effect on social responsibility values: adolescents reporting higher family compassion messages on average predicted higher social responsibility values on average. Within-person effects showed that on occasions when adolescents reported more democratic climate and compassion messages in the family, they reported higher social responsibility values. Regarding peers, significant between- and within-person effects showed that adolescents with higher trusted friendship had higher social responsibility on average and on occasions when adolescents reported higher trusted friendship, they also reported higher social responsibility values. School solidarity had positive between- and within-person effects on social responsibility values: adolescents with higher perceptions of school solidarity had higher social responsibility values on average, and on occasions when adolescents reported higher school solidarity, they reported higher social responsibility values. Higher school democratic climate predicted higher social responsibility values on average, but the within-person effect was not significant. Community connectedness had positive between- and within-person effects on social responsibility values: adolescents reporting more community connectedness on average had higher social responsibility values on average, and on occasions when adolescents reported more community connectedness, they reported more social responsibility values. In sum, every ecological asset examined – except for family democratic climate – predicted between-person differences in social responsibility values at the intercept. Every ecological asset examined – except for school democratic climate – predicted within-person change in social responsibility values over time.

Regarding individual-level factors, fair society beliefs and volunteer experience had positive between- and within-person effects on social responsibility values. Adolescents with higher fair society beliefs reported higher social responsibility values on average, and on occasions when adolescents reported higher fair society beliefs, their social responsibility values were also higher. Similarly, adolescents who reported more volunteerism had higher social responsibility values on average, and on occasions when they had volunteered, their social responsibility values were also higher. Substance use had negative between- and within-person effects on social responsibility values: Higher substance use was related to lower social responsibility values on average, and on occasions when adolescents reported more substance use, social responsibility values were lower. Time-varying school transition variables indicated that on occasions when youth transitioned to high school, their social responsibility values decreased. The transition to middle school was not associated with social responsibility values.

Comparing the full model to the unconditional model (i.e., model with age parameters only), the pseudo R 2 for Level 2 was .64 and the pseudo R 2 for Level 1 was .26 ( Singer & Willett, 2003 ). Thus, the full set of predictors explained 64% of between-person variance in social responsibility, and level 1 predictors accounted for 26% of within-person change in social responsibility. Several effects were reduced to non-significance in the full model, including the level 1 linear age effect and level 2 effects for being Black, parental education, and living in a two-parent household. Thus, variance in social responsibility once predicted by these factors was better explained by variations in contextual and individual factors.

Ecological Asset Growth Curves

Ecological assets explained within-person variance in social responsibility values and were implicated in explaining the linear decline (which was reduced to non-significance). The within-person level pattern of findings suggested that ecological assets and social responsibility may change in concert for many youth. To follow-up full model results, unconditional growth curves of ecological assets were also examined. We used the same analytic steps described above for fitting the social responsibility values growth curve model.

Similar to the pattern in social responsibility values, a quadratic model with a random intercept best fit the data for family democratic climate, family compassion messages, and school solidarity. Adolescents’ perceptions of these ecological assets declined until middle adolescence and in late adolescence either increased (family democratic climate, family compassion) or leveled off (school solidarity; see Figure 2 ). A linear model with a random intercept best fit for trusted friendship, school democratic climate, and community connectedness: Adolescents’ perceptions of these ecological assets declined steadily with age. Thus, all ecological assets showed a declining pattern across adolescence.

Note . Growth models for ecological assets are pictured alongside social responsibility values (line in gray). All scales ranged from 1 to 5. The twenty-five 9-year olds at wave 1 and six adolescents who turned 19 during the 12 th grade were included in analyses but excluded from the graph, given that they were unlikely to be representative of their age group.

Our study provides new empirical evidence that social responsibility values change across adolescence. The pattern of change was mostly characterized by decline, supporting the middle adolescence decline hypothesis. Every ecological asset in our study (except for school democratic climate) predicted within-person change in adolescents’ social responsibility values. These findings held after accounting for other ecological assets, individual factors, and demographics and provide support for the role of ecological assets in adolescents’ social responsibility development. Declining trajectories of ecological assets further underscored the strong link between ecological assets and social responsibility values, suggesting that adolescent perceptions of the relational climate in their families, schools, communities, and friendships decline synchronously with social responsibility values. Findings contribute to developmental theory and advance understanding of the development of social responsibility values.

A Contextual Explanation for Declining Social Responsibility Values

Two competing ideas offered testable hypotheses regarding age-related change in adolescents’ social responsibility values: the normative growth and middle adolescence decline hypotheses. A growth curve model indicated a decline in social responsibility values across ages 9–16, with a leveling off thereafter. These data support the idea of a middle adolescence decline, which has been suggested by research showing that early to middle adolescents report lower frequencies of moral and prosocial moral judgments and declines in endorsements of collective responsibility to promote health ( Eisenberg, 1990 ; Flanagan et al., 2008 ; Nucci & Turiel, 2009 ). Finding age-related change in levels of social responsibility contributes to value theory, which has mostly focused on adults and assumed values crystallize after adolescence to remain relatively stable in adulthood ( Jennings, 1989 ; Schwartz, 1992 ). Along with other developmental scientists studying change in adolescents’ values (e.g., Johnson, 2005 ; Wigfield & Cambria, 2010 ), our findings extend thinking on values by documenting plasticity and pointing to the role of ecological assets in partially explaining that change.

Given our RDS theoretical perspective and view of social responsibility as growing out of mutually reinforcing relationships with others in context ( Lerner, Wang, Champine, Warren, & Erikson, 2014 ; Wray-Lake & Syvertsen, 2011 ), our study positioned ecological assets as a primary mechanism explaining change in social responsibility across adolescence. Indeed, results supported a strong link between ecological assets and social responsibility values, as evidenced by the multiple, unique within-person effects of ecological assets on social responsibility values as well as by similar trajectories of social responsibility values and ecological assets, which all indicated decline over time. The link between ecological assets and social responsibility values was posited by multiple theoretical frameworks, including RDS, positive youth development, and social capital theories ( Lerner et al., 2014 ; Lerner et al., 2015 ; Putnam, 2001 ). Our findings newly contribute to theory and research by showing that five distinct ecological assets each predicted unique within-person variance in social responsibility values. This pattern suggests that these ecological assets each have a rather robust association with intraindividual change in social responsibility values, given that effects held after accounting for similar relational resources across settings. The strength of these findings is notable and perhaps a bit surprising, given the difficulties in identifying significant predictors of within-person change ( Singer & Willett, 2003 ). Although our findings do not provide any causal evidence, the results are exciting because they powerfully suggest that the ecological assets we measured can independently and additively change adolescents’ social responsibility values. Although relatively few studies of prosocial or civic development consider multiple contexts simultaneously, our study suggests that simultaneously examining multiple ecological assets across settings can produce a richer understanding of the contextual determinants of positive youth development.

Our findings further contribute to theory by demonstrating that adolescents feel less connected and respected in their contexts over time and declines in these ecological assets predict corresponding declines in social responsibility values. Articulating when and why to expect changes in ecological assets advances developmental theory, given the implications for adolescents’ positive development. Specifically, our study suggests that during middle adolescence, there may be a void in the supportive environments adolescents need to thrive. Other studies have found similar evidence of declines in family and school climate during middle adolescence (e.g., Eccles et al., 1993 ; Shanahan et al., 2007 ; Wang & Dishion, 2012 ; Wray-Lake et al., 2012 ). Moreover, transitioning to high school may negatively affect functioning, as adolescents are likely to perceive less teacher support and more hostile and competitive school climates ( Barber & Olsen, 2004 ; Newman et al., 2007 ; Otis et al., 2005 ).

From an applied perspective, our findings point to the need to identify and address the reasons adolescents increasingly feel less bonded to and respected by others in their day-to-day lives. As we show, social responsibility values likely develop out of routine conversations and interactions adolescents have with family members, friends, teachers, classmates, and neighbors. Yet, these exchanges may be overlooked as potential pathways to promoting social responsibility. Although our within-person change findings coupled with parallel trajectories suggest a disheartening story of decline in both ecological assets and social responsibility values, it is worth underscoring that we identified positive covariations between ecological assets and social responsibility values. Thus, when youth perceive ecological assets in their surrounding contexts, they likely increase the value they place on social responsibility. Certainly, interventions rooted in a PYD perspective already recognize the importance of fostering ecological assets and democratic relationships ( Lerner et al., 2012 ), and social responsibility could be an important result of these efforts. Interventions and other youth programming efforts may be stimulated by our results to cultivate democratic relationships across an array of settings to support adolescents’ positive value development. Given that we found associations between social responsibility and family, school, community, and peer assets, our study suggests multiple plausible points of intervention to enhance the development of social responsibility.

Role of Beliefs and Behaviors for Social Responsibility Values

Although the paper focused on ecological assets, a sub-story emerged regarding the role of individual beliefs and behaviors for social responsibility development. Fair society beliefs, volunteerism, and substance use predicted within-person change in social responsibility values. Findings with fair society beliefs fit with the broader literature on these beliefs and the argument that youth who feel more attached to the democratic principles of society also feel more committed to serving society ( Flanagan, 2013 ). The current study extended past literature by revealing that this association unfolds dynamically over time: Change in adolescents’ fair society beliefs predict changes in social responsibility values. The link between fair society beliefs and social responsibility should be further studied in diverse cultural contexts, as some work indicates that fair society beliefs may only be positively associated with social responsibility for certain ethnic groups ( Wray-Lake, Rote, Gupta, Godfrey, & Sirin, 2015 ), whereas other work finds no group differences in this association ( Flanagan et al., 2007 ). Moreover, previous research has identified ecological assets that predict fair society beliefs ( Wray-Lake et al., 2015 ), and these findings suggest that more complex theoretical models of social responsibility development should be tested. For instance, individual factors like fair society beliefs may mediate the links between ecological assets and social responsibility values.

Finding that volunteerism and substance use uniquely predict change in social responsibility contributes new evidence to value theory, which has primarily assumed unidirectionality going from values to behavior but less commonly examines transactional links (cf. Hitlin & Piliavin, 2004 ). Again, our study does not offer causal evidence, but at least suggests that behaviors could predict changes in values. Within-person links from behaviors to social responsibility values highlight that adolescents are active agents in their own positive development. The volunteerism finding is notable for its application: When youth volunteered, they reported higher social responsibility values. Likewise, other studies have shown that service-learning experiences enhance civic attitudes and values ( Conway et al., 2009 ; van Goethem et al., 2014 ) and volunteering in adolescence predicts voting, volunteering, and joining community organizations in adulthood ( Hart, Donnelly, Youniss, & Atkins, 2007 ; McFarland & Thomas, 2006 ). We extend extant research by illustrating a longitudinal time-varying association between volunteerism and social responsibility values during adolescence.

Limitations and Future Directions

Despite this paper’s strengths, several weaknesses should be noted. There was a large amount of missing data across the three waves, although this was in part a design feature, as high school graduates were not recruited for follow-up. Steps were taken to minimize bias due to missing data by using all available data in analyses and including factors related to attrition; however, missing data could reduce generalizability. Generalizability is also limited by the relative lack of ethnic diversity in our sample. Furthermore, accelerated cohort designs are valuable for efficient estimation of long-term curves with fewer waves of data ( Duncan, Duncan, & Hops, 1996 ), and our analyses were strengthened by accounting for cohort effects of age. Yet following the same individuals across the full age range may give more accurate estimates of age-related change in social responsibility values.

There are several alternative explanations of our findings that warrant further attention in future studies. Perhaps most importantly, declines in social responsibility values may correspond with broader patterns of sociocognitive development suggesting that moral and prosocial judgments come into conflict with other personal and social concerns ( Eisenberg, 1990 ; Nucci & Turiel, 2009 ). In middle adolescence, youth may expand their personal domain and thus evaluate more issues in terms of personal interests ( Smetana et al., 2009 ). These sociocognitive processes may even be a third variable explanation for our ecological asset findings: Increasing desire for authority over personal issues and more self-focused reasoning may lead adolescents to feel less well-understood and less supported by others. Declines in social responsibility values could also be because the youngest adolescents in our sample may have been overly positive and unrealistic in their responses and perceptions of social responsibility values and ecological assets become lower, and more realistic, with age and experience. Research on adolescents’ self-perceptions suggests that young people tend to be overly positive in their self-appraisals in middle childhood ( Harter, 2012 ). Although our measures were equally reliable across ages, we cannot rule out this alternative possibility. Replication of associations with objective measures of ecological assets or other reporters would enhance the impact of the findings. Moreover, experimental studies that increased adolescents’ affective bonds with others or perceptions of positive climate and found resulting increases in social responsibility values would lend clear support for the contextual perspective. For example, a school-based intervention designed to increase prosocial behavior through bolstering school climate showed positive results ( Caprara et al., 2014 ).

Declining trends in social responsibility values suggest a call to action: For scientists, more theoretical and empirical work is needed to verify the role of ecological assets and understand other reasons for these declines. Perhaps these findings will also stimulate additional research that assesses the implications of declines in social responsibility values for other domains of adolescent development. Given that declines in social responsibility seem to go hand in hand with declines in ecological assets, perhaps youth and adult leaders in various settings will heed the call to reflect on how to strengthen relational resources. Ultimately, research and applied efforts that continue to develop youths’ priorities of caring for others may also be helping to create a more sustainable and democratic society.

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgement.

This research was supported by Grant RO1 DA13434 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded to Constance A. Flanagan. We thank Aaron Metzger for comments on a draft of the paper, and we are grateful to the adolescents and parents who participated in this study.

Contributor Information

Laura Wray-Lake, University of Rochester.

Amy K. Syvertsen, Search Institute.

Constance A. Flanagan, University of Wisconsin – Madison.

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Importance of the Youth voices and opinion in Improving the Quality…

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When I write this the first person to strike my mind is my own cousin brother – a meritorious student who took up science and performed quite well until something really changed. One who put hours and every tiny tissue of his brain into solving mathematics and physics’ problems unexpectedly decided to take a complete turn from his aspirations to become an engineer to that of a social activist. We don’t understand, till date, what really altered his mind but all that jazz he does now is something we have never failed to take pride in. He had the courage and grit to plunge into a field which might not have given him what a ‘safe’ job bids but it surely gave him the personal satisfaction we only yearn for – to touch our imaginations closely, change people’s lives and be remembered.

Although we presume that my cousin brother drew inspiration from his own mother who was a social activist herself but I have understood not everyone needs someone very close to be enthused for being thoughtful of their social responsibilities. The power of empathy in today’s generation has been somehow underrated but there are young empathizers in good numbers and not all of them adhere to selfishness or a closed mindset. It is us who need to open the doors to the potential of so many youngsters which will eventually make a difference in the society.

So what is this social responsibility we are talking about? It is the adolescents’ embracement of their individuality amidst the clarification of one’s part in a broadening social framework. In detail, it is the acknowledgment of the value of each decision one takes; being compassionate to everybody else including self; establishing a sense of control and competitiveness with each growing step; being enlightened about human rights; understanding the importance of getting involved in others’ matters through humanitarian works; working on to develop a sense of leadership with shifting time pattern. But I must mention that social responsibility doesn’t originate with the burden of performing for others in a mandatory way. Infact it must not be professed as a liability at all. One does not need to be a social activist to prove the authenticity of their sense of responsibility but it is that sensitivity which must be inculcated to be genuinely vested in our subconscious. As much as empathy roots essentiality, the fundamental quality that social responsibilities call for is selflessness. The capacity to reflect beyond one’s perimeter of comfort zone is where the challenge lies, especially because generosity resides in day-to-day affair that eventually seeds what one desires to be. If you are playing music louder than what is audible, ignoring your neighbors’ discomforts or if you think indulging in issues like littering/ spitting/ ignoring traffic signals is minor then you must seriously reassess your ‘principles’. Your life-is-short-so-take-a-chill-pill could manifest serious inescapable complications for others in some cases and before you shrug off again, try revising your old school textbooks. While this may look like a rant on my young friends, it very much applies for society as a whole. We abide by our social responsibilities to give back to the society that brought us up. Similarly it is equally important that societies let the young minds grow its own wings, understand societal norms and not just impose it on them, open doors to democracy and likewise retain its integrity by performing its own duties. After all, even a society must be socially responsible in order to evolve.

Well the real issue lies in trusting our generation. Our assumption on today’s youth as irresponsible and wayward will do more harm than anything because our negative attitude towards them might affect what they do. Every human being is born with a scope to be better than their previous version and sometimes, as they say, there are rewards ahead on taking a leap of faith. On being discouraged or doubted unnecessarily, the potential in them gradually dies. It is important to acknowledge one’s creativity and curiosity. Hence it is vital that we not only properly communicate but also inform, inspire, empower and create awareness among people for a distinct understanding of the dynamic relationship between human development and social development.

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Youth and Social Responsibility

Youth leaders of Kolegaon were inspired to organize an awareness activity with their peers, after attending a residential leadership training camp in November, where they underwent a session on “Youth & Priorities” by Deepa Pawar and their worldview changed. A number of youth leaders realised how, as a normal “youth”, our priorities can be the ususal trio of family-education-job, but as a “youth leader” while the above priorities do remain, the topmost becomes social change or some form of social responsibility.

This concept touched many, and these youth came back to their village wanting to take this message to their peers. They therefore orgnaized a workshop for class 11 students of Sakharam Sheth Vidyalay in Kolegaon. The youth leaders took care of everything from taking permission from the school, mobilizing students, registration, food and other logistics.

They invited Deepa from Anubhuti to take the workshop and this was modelled on the pressures on youth today, and how taking on social responsibility is not a pressure but a liberation – a path to developing self, community, family and society. The students being very fresh responded positively but had questions. Anubhuti’s youth leaders worked hard to drive home the message by their own examples.

We truly appreciate the effort taken by these young leaders, and even more their commitment to social change. This activity was part of the Kadam Badhate Chalo program supported by Martha Farrell Foundation, PRIA and Pro-Sport Development.

Essay on Youth for Students and Children

500+ words essay on youth.

Youth is a worthwhile phase of one’s life. The age where the age group is no longer of a child but yet to turn out to be a grown-up is the youth age. It is an age recognized by traits of heroism, toughness, muscle, stimulation, curiosity, judgmental attitude and even much more. At this stage, even though driven by fantasy or freedom and the power to choose his or her response, all must be cautiously exercised. It is a golden phase to accomplish the dual goals of intelligence and character.

A Period of Stress & Strain, Storm & Strife

Youth, in the present era, is a powerful asset of the nation possessing the abundant energy and the zeal considered necessary for the overall advancement of the same. Youth is a critical age of development, a period of uncertainty when everything is in ferment.

As a Youth is neither a child nor an adult, the personality possesses a mixture of both stages. He can be selfish at some times or turn out to be selfless the very next day. He may also turn out to be rebellious one day.

Youth develops a revolting personality and thus we can see conflicts in opinions between the family. It is also a major cause of worsening of family relations. Youth, being argumentative in nature, develop an attitude of apt rationale and judgment.

Thus, it denies accepting as true in anything without an appropriate cause following the same. It is not that there is no lack of moral awakening or his total refusal to adhere to ethical and moral standards. It is merely that he wants his every question to be answered and having his quest fulfilled, he accepts the same.

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How to channelize Youth Power in the right direction?

Youth is full of strength and intellectual capability, which if properly utilized could assist in turning the invisible into visible, the hardships to triumph and the hard work to success thus leading to the overall growth of an individual and the nation at large.

Following measures must be adapted to turn the youth into prolific individuals:

• Understanding child psychology by the parents at this stage.
• Proper guidance by the teachers
• Practical representation of best ideals and values to foster moral education in the schools. Sex education is a must for better emotional development.
• Minimizing the habit of excessive control and strict discipline so as to promote the expression of emotions, thus leading to suitable mental development.
• The organization of extra-curricular activities to channelize the imagination in youth towards creative activities.
• Preparing the youth for the cause of society by entrusting the responsibility so as to develop a feeling of responsibility in them.
• A right and rationale attitude towards democracy should be developed in the surroundings. This would lead to develop the philosophy of life.

  Conclusion

Youth is the golden period to cherish a big dream full of passion and energy. Although, the period is also full of adventures yet they have to be looked for with the eyes open. It is the time when we can provide shape to our ideas for the economic development of society. By encouraging to take an active part in the dramas, projects, sports and others are pretty good ways to control excessive fantasy. Also, it is the time to move towards the destination which can be made possible through vocational awareness and critical study of individual differences.

Mixed with responsibility and fun, new environs, excitement, thrill, applauses, and regrets, it has a huge significance in one’s life. It is time to achieve wisdom in addition to knowledge.

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• Role of Youth Essay

Essay on the Role of Youth in Modern Era

Youth is joy. Youth is a phase in which small children have come out of their protective shells and are ready to spread their wings in the world of hope and dreams. Youth means to cherish hope. It is a time of development. It is the time for growth and change. He plays an important role in the development of our society. He has the potential to learn and adapt to the environment. He has the capabilities to bring social reforms and improvement to society. His idealism, enthusiasm and courage cannot be matched with any other segment in the society.

Role of Youth Essay In English

Every person grows the most in their youth. People go through times of joy, hardship, worry but at the end of the day, we all become better. Youth has to be the most important part of everyone’s life, considering just how much one person can develop during these years. These years will not only offer opportunities for growth but will also help us in getting a better understanding of ourselves. This understanding of oneself is an unending process. It marks its beginning in our youth and continues to be a major part of our lives in the future. We grow as people, learn how to develop relationships, and understand the people around us much better when we reach our youth.

As kids, we take many things for granted. We take our friends for granted, we sometimes take our blessings for granted and it makes sense because the only thing that children are focused on is living. We don’t care about anything else and just want to live a fulfilling life as children. When we reach our youth, we become more goal-oriented. We prioritize our time and become more focused on what we want in life. No matter what happens or what age you reach, one must always keep their inner child alive. The child that wants to live life to the fullest. The child that wants to cherish some of the most amazing moments that life has to offer. The child laughs and giggles at the silliest things. Oftentimes, as adults, people tend to forget to enjoy life and have a good time. And that is why it is essential to continue to be that child throughout the entirety of your life. 

Youth is the time in our lives that teaches us how to make decisions and start making reasonable choices for our betterment. Our youth builds our character and is a very crucial part of our development.

Youth is the part of our lives that builds our character. The morals and responsibilities that we take up and learn in this period of our life shapes our future. The kinds of choices that you make and the decisions in your lives, start having a consequence in this period. There are several ways in which the youth of a person leads to many changes in their life. Young people are energetic, enthusiastic and filled with a lot of passion. The young spirit that every leader talks about refers to the same thing. The passion and the energy in this period of our lives, when put to something very creative and useful can easily lead to developing our skills and leading us to a bright future right away. 

Youth’s Roles and Responsibilities In Today’s Era

Youth and life indeed itself flashes by, in the blink of an eye. That is why you need to ask yourselves what you can do for society and the country. God has vested all power in the hands of the youth so that he can perform his duties effectively. They should start thinking positively and creatively. They must develop the spirit to refute what is wrong in society. They must realize that now is the time to take action. 

Youth should not seek an easy, comfortable path. No one develops in a pampered environment. These are some key responsibilities that the young generation must inculcate in them:

Value Of Time: It is the responsibility of the youth to understand the importance of time. Every moment is crucial for them to take action so punctuality is a must.

Discipline: Youth has to understand the necessity of discipline in life. Youth is full of passion. Without discipline, the youngsters cannot work passionately.

Thinking Before Taking Action: Youth must not be impulsive. It is very important to think before taking action. This is how the youth will be able to create a thoughtful society.

Character Driven: Character builds up a nation. The young people need to be morally strong, reflective individuals and dedicated which will drive them to take corrective actions for the nation.

Fearless: The youth must be courageous in taking action. Fearless youth can fight injustice.

Goal-Oriented: The youth needs to be focused on the goals that he wants to accomplish. When the young generation is goal-oriented, then their vision and mission become very clear.

Zealous: Youth has to be energized, full of vitality. With the attribute of zealousness, the youth can help to protect the national security and interest of a country and ideological position.

Role of Youth In Building A Nation

National development is now in the hands of the young generation. The older generation has passed on the baton to the youth. The young generation has more concurrent dreams, passion and hope. Youth in any country represents the future of his nation. 

For the development of the country, the young people have to be hardworking in any field they get involved in, be it teaching, farming, mechanic or any other field. Today the youth is facing challenges in employment opportunities, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS but there are chances to overcome some of these challenges. They need to take up any job opportunity that is available till they get what they want to. The young generation has to be very responsible and say NO to drugs. Youth empowerment can eradicate poverty from the country. He plays an important role in the constructive process of building social cohesion, economic prosperity and political stability of a nation in an inclusive and democratic way. 

The youth of a country counts as the most important asset that they can possess. Youth is the chance for the entire nation to leave a mark on the entire globe. By making sure that the youth of a nation continues to grow with each passing day and ends up achieving some of the most brilliant things that can put their country on the top, the nation can rebuild and grow with them.

Better youth and better quality of life for youth assures success for not only the existing generation but also for the upcoming generation. Therefore there is no denying the fact that a country can become much better with the support of the youth that they have.

Role of Youth For The Change In The Society

Youth is the future of society.  The young generation simply needs to renew, refresh and maintain the current status of society. When the youth contributes his ideas and energy to resolve social issues, he becomes a capable leader and can also make a difference in the lives of others. They must have the courage to resolve the mournful contradictions that are plaguing society and boldly take on great challenges without shunning the subsequent problems and difficulties that they will inevitably face.

Nothing can equal the splendour of the youth. To be young --- that in itself is to possess a treasure of infinite worth far greater than any person of power. It is the responsibility of the older generation to provide them with the right resources, guidance and a good environment so that they become strong change agents in the community. They say that the strongest force is the power of the young. And it is true because the power and the strength that the youth of a nation possesses is unmatched and does bring a chance to grow and develop not only for them but for the people around them.

FAQs on Role of Youth Essay

1. Why is Youth So Important?

Youth symbolizes hope. He can bring a change to the society and nation. The youth of a nation symbolizes the drive and will to do more and that is why everything that the youth of a country upvotes attracts attention. The motivation and hunger for success is something that cannot be explained but this is exactly what makes youth so special and important. 

2. What are the Qualities Youth Needs to Possess?

Youth needs to be disciplined, morally strong, reflective individuals, and empathetic. The youth must have brilliant skills to develop themselves at all times and also skills that help them in leading better relationships with people around them in their personal lives.

3. How  can Youth Build A Strong Nation?

Youth can build a strong nation by eradicating poverty, building social cohesion, developing the economic condition and political stability of a country. Youth can become a force to empower each other instead of pulling each other down. Imagine a world where every person wants the other to grow and become better. This is why we believe in the power of togetherness and unity. The youth must possess this very quality to be a force to bring a change in the society that they live in and build a strong nation together. 

4. Why is it necessary for the youth to be goal-oriented?

When you are goal oriented then you become very clear about vision and mission. Goals make and contribute towards one’s purpose. The true way to find your purpose in life is by trying new things every day and finding what your true calling is. By becoming goal-oriented, people can achieve great things and become stronger and get an idea of their purpose. The youth has the right motivation and the drive to achieve unimaginable things. That is why, when they become goal-oriented, they can easily find their true calling, become powerful and successful, and help other people. 

5. What are some important responsibilities of the youth?

The youth must have responsibilities like being goal-driven, zealous, and respectful. People in their youth must know how to make definite decisions that are well thought and not hurried. Lastly, the youth must be disciplined and should understand the importance of time. 

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The KWHS Essay Contest: Social Responsibility in the Corporate World

The four winners of the Knowledge@Wharton High School Essay Contest “Socially Responsible Business” category discovered companies both large and small that are finding ways to help society and the environment. Their essays take readers from the farmlands of India to the Adirondack Mountains of the United States, demonstrating that social responsibility is a global commitment. … Read More

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In preparation for its launch, Knowledge@Wharton High School held a contest in which it invited high school students from across the U.S. and the world to submit essays on their choice of two topics: “Starting a New Business” or “Socially Responsible Business.” From the several hundred entries, judges chose four high school students (two each from grades 9-10 and 11-12) as winners in each of two topic categories. Below are the four winning essays in the “Socially Responsible Business” category, which asked students to highlight a private sector company that has created a lasting positive impact on the community – local, national and/or global — through socially responsible policies.

The essays have been lightly edited for length and KWHS style.

Socially Responsible Business 11 th /12 th Grade Winners

First Place Matthias Nikaj Francis Parker School, San Diego, Calif. “Development from Below: The Grameen Bank Model for Alleviating Poverty”

On October 13, 2006, the Nobel Committee announced it would award the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Bangladeshi banker and economist Muhammad Yunus for his “efforts to create economic and social development from below…” through his pioneering approach to micro- credit . In 1976, Yunus started his Grameen Bank Project as an experiment in providing small loans to poor rural communities in Bangladesh without collateral, which had traditionally hampered the ability of the poor to take loans.

By 1983, Grameen Bank had become an independent bank , and, by 2007, it had provided loans to more than 7.3 million people, with over half breaking the cycle of poverty within five years of taking a Grameen loan. Remarkably, Grameen’s payback rate is roughly 90% to 95%, and in the fiscal year 2006, the bank’s revenue reached $92.3 million — remarkable considering the bank targets exclusively the lowest classes of Bangladeshi society.

Grameen Bank’s success in combining social responsibility with a profit-motive lies in three innovative techniques. First, the bank has eschewed the standard system of collateral in favor of a trust-based lending system, thereby freeing up its ability to deal with poor rural communities. Second, to keep up payback rates and encourage fiscal responsibility, Grameen has adopted solidarity lending. Through solidarity lending, Grameen lends money to ‘solidarity groups ,’ usually of around 20 to 30 people, as opposed to individuals. In so doing, the bank exploits social capital and peer pressure by fostering mutual support within the group and a ‘spirit of repayment.’

Solidarity lending works well in the tribal and communitarian mindset of many rural communities, where notions of ‘shame’ and ‘honor’ are a key part of life. Beyond solidarity lending, however, Grameen Bank takes a more holistic approach, creating a social compact, the “16 Decisions,” between the bank and the community – perhaps its most innovative contribution to micro-credit. The 16 Decisions, which vary from “Prosperity we shall bring to our families” to “We shall build and use pit-latrines,” set up guidelines for the generation and growth of wealth within the community. This social compact, based on trust, replaces the legal system of secured transactions favored by larger banks.

The key to Grameen Bank’s success lies in its ability to understand the local and cultural dimensions of its customer base and adapt its business model accordingly. The system of credit developed in New York and London may be entirely ineffective in the Tangail District of Bangladesh and, similarly, what works in Chittagong may not work elsewhere. In rural Bangladesh, the core social unit is not the individual, but the extended family. Within that dynamic, individuals act for the benefit of their family and avoid certain actions to not bring ‘shame’ on their clan. Grameen, through solidarity lending, targets extended families instead of individuals. Its 16 Decisions make full use of familial bonds for business purpose, stating, “We shall collectively undertake bigger investments for higher income,” and, “If we come to know of any breach of discipline in any centre, we shall all go there and help restore discipline.”

Nevertheless, Grameen has not gone without criticism. Akhtaruz Zaman, a director at Bangladesh’s Central Bank, complains that “They are regulated, but they are regulated by themselves.” The lack of oversight has led some to suggest that many of Grameen’s statistics are exaggerated, and that Grameen relies heavily on charitable contributions from philanthropic foundations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave $1.5 million to Grameen in 2005. Moreover, Grameen defines “defaulting” on a loan as not having paid the loan back within two years, as opposed to the traditional one-year definition used by most banks.

Another major criticism of Grameen has been that its merger of economic and social policy within its business goes too far. Jeffrey Tucker, of the Mises Institute, writes, “[Grameen’s] ‘16 Decisions’ that must be adopted by all borrowers read like a party platform for collectivist regimentation… a very strange ‘bank’ indeed!” Moreover, Grameen has a tendency to challenge accepted social norms in Bangladesh. Approximately 97% of its borrowers are women, which has created some tension in the patriarchal Bangladeshi society. One of the 16 Decisions is, “We shall not practice child marriage,” which seems to have little to do with the prospective value of borrowers.

Grameen’s union of social and fiscal policy presents the potential to create positive social transformation in some of the world’s poorest communities. Companies who wish to follow in Grameen’s footsteps, however, must be careful to not lose economic viability in the face of social experimentation. Though a ban on child marriage is laudable, tying it to one’s ability to take a loan may constitute an overreach.

To Grameen’s credit, many of the critiques leveled at the company dissipate when one takes into account the local conditions under which it is operating. A rural Bangladeshi woman will most likely take more time to repay her loan than a corporate lawyer in Tokyo. In that sense, Grameen’s redefinition of “defaulting” on a loan is excusable. Additionally, though charitable contributions do provide the bank with a sort of guarantee on its loans, these contributions are not enough to account for the entirety of Grameen’s success and profit. Overall, the Grameen model is a creative and sustainable engine for what the Nobel Committee called, ‘development from below.’ The micro-credit industry has boomed in recent years as more and more companies realize small loans to the poor can work and even be profitable.

In the summer of 2008, I witnessed the rise of microfinance firsthand when I interned at Raiffeisen Bank’s newly started microfinance segment in Tirana, Albania. Raiffeisen, a major European bank with net income of $2.4 billion, launched its micro-credit segment, focusing almost exclusively on loans to small businesses and rural borrowers in response to the success of ProCredit Bank, a microfinance bank operating in 22 developing countries that is organized partly around the principles of Grameen.

Microfinance is an original and profitable way for companies, especially banks, to expand their business while promoting larger social goods . As the power of corporations and their influence rises with globalization , companies like Grameen Bank provide a positive example of how the force and dynamism of the free market can be harnessed for the greater good of all.

Second Place Sharvani Srivastava Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, Calif. “The Milk of Farmers’ Labor: Corporate Social Responsibility Under the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited”

After visiting countless traders, the exhausted milk farmer walked home with a mere five rupees in his pocket. The desperate farmer had sold the owner of one shop seven liters of milk for a meager amount of money since the owner claimed he already had an excess of milk. As the farmer walked home, he knew his family would have to go hungry another night. This same situation could be seen in the lives of many milk farmers in Gujarat, India, in the 1940s as thousands of dairymen were exploited by milk distributors, who made the profit while the producers were left with nothing. From this hopeless situation grew a new company, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF), to help the poor farmers rid themselves of the manipulative middlemen. Since then, the GCMMF has not only survived, but also flourished due to its dedication and sincerity towards socially responsible policies while maintaining high profits.

Many companies today give back to society after becoming successful. However, few companies have been started to not only make a profit, but also help society simultaneously. The GCMMF is entirely based upon the latter form of corporate social responsibility . To rid the world of poverty, “each…‘microconsumer’ must have access to world-class products and services. Simultaneously, ‘microproducers’ must have access to global markets for his or her labor at fair prices,” said author C.K. Prahalad. In the GCMMF, the milk producers sell directly to the consumers to eliminate the exploitation of the middlemen and allow the milkmen to earn a wage 15% higher than the national average. The GCMMF adheres to strict international quality control standards and markets these high-quality goods under the brand Amul.

Unlike most high-quality products, Amul products are available not only in large cities, but also in villages throughout India for low prices so all microconsumers, even the poorest classes, are able to afford world-class nutritious food. Through free programs such as Amul, Yatra and 35 other women leadership programs, the GCMMF teaches the rural masses modern management techniques and the latest technology in agriculture so as to give those without many opportunities, such as  of education, equal footing with those who do. Other accomplishments of the GCMMF include the Internet Sewa Program, which places one computer with Internet connection in villages, and the donation of dairy products worth one million rupees to flood victims in India. The GCMMF is also helping Thailand, Malaysia and African countries to establish similar companies in their own countries so as to reduce poverty throughout the world.

For a business to be successful, it must achieve its business goals. The business goals of the GCMMF are the incorporation of more farmers into the company, a growing milk supply and the expansion of the company and its profits. Although it may seem like the GCMMF earns little profit due to its social policies, in actuality, the company has a large income. In 2007, the GCMMF had revenues of US$1.325 million, and has grown from selling only fresh milk to selling more than over 80 products.

The reason for the GCMMF’s successful mixture of a profitable and beneficial business is the very basis of the entire company. With the business goal of a growing labor pool, the company earns revenues from more people producing more milk; it fulfills its socially responsible goal because more farmers earn a fair wage. With the increased amount of milk that is sold, a high profit can be earned while lowering the price. A lower price increases demand. As a result, the GCMMF can sell more of its products and help its community since even the poor can afford the products.

Furthermore, the management program that the GCMMF employs increases the profit of the company through increased sales as well as furthers the development of rural areas through education. Another unique aspect that allows for the flawless integration of charity and business in the GCMMF is that the farmers are part owners of the company, and they work towards the betterment of themselves and their community rather than towards public attention. Unlike other companies, the GCMMF did not need to incorporate its social policies into its business strategies since its business strategies were its social policies.

When looking at socially responsible policies of the GCMMF, it is difficult to identify any mistakes the company has made. The GCMMF has not lost a chance to earn higher profits or a chance to help its community. Other companies can also adopt socially responsible policies that are equally helpful to their communities. No matter how much money is given to charity, one of the primary features of social responsibility is caring for the employees so they, too, can lead a suitable life. Also, a company should ensure that the aid given suits the needs of the recipients so development can take place. A company should always choose to improve a part of society it passionately believes needs improvement, and only then with proper motivation , can true progress be made.

Socially Responsible Business 9 th /10 th Grade Winners

First Place Kyle Davidson Penncrest High School, Media , Pa. “Golden Arrow Goes Green”

The company I chose that is going eco friendly is the Golden Arrow Hotel in Lake Placid, New York. I believe this company’s policy is to continually become greener and greener and help the world. Golden Arrow is helping protect Adirondack Park, which is the most protected area in the United States. The park is larger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Parks combined. By going green, the company is trying not to pollute the park, which can be seen from the hotel. I believe they are doing a great job. Additionally, Golden Arrow is trying to spread eco friendliness to other hotels in New York. Golden Arrow is a wonderful example of a green hotel, as you will see in this paper.

The Golden Arrow is the region’s first hotel to be rated “four out of five leaves” by Audubon International. Only about 10 hotels have also been rated this high. The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort is trying to go greener each year. When light bulbs at the hotel burn out, the hotel replaces them with energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs. The company buys all of their eco friendly light bulbs from the Boy Scouts, which help their community while helping to keep the hotel green. The hotel only buys carpet from companies that recycle carpets or use other recycled materials. The heating and cooling units are very energy efficient. The hotel has an allergen free floor that contains bamboo, which is a renewable resource.

Golden Arrow also uses water-efficient toilets and showers and relies on recycled paper and tissue as well as cleaning agents that do not affect the earth. Golden Arrow tries to recycle as much as they can. The hotel even encourages their customers to recycle by placing recycling bins in their rooms and near the vending machines. The company now sends out double the amount of recycled plastics as compared to before they encouraged their customers to recycle. So now, there is not as much plastic going to the landfills.

When the employees have a meeting, only organic and locally produced food are served. Golden Arrow’s beaches are made from crushed limestone, which helps prevent acid rain from going into the lake. Wow! They are even trying to improve their lake! The hotel has plants on some of their roofs, which provides oxygen, insulates the roofs, which helps with cooling and heating, and prevents rainwater run off. Golden Arrow only uses real silverware, plates and glasses, thus eliminating additional plastic from going to landfills. The company is putting in 15 new rooms so that when guests are not in the room, the air or heat will turn down automatically. If customers arrive at the hotel by foot, bicycle or a hybrid car, the company will give you a “Thank you for being kind to the Earth” goody bag. All around the hotel, there are picture frames that have “fun facts” about the hotel. The guests look for the answers, and if they get the questions right, then they get an Earth prize. A staff member created Mr. Green, who is the hotel’s mascot. Kids get a coloring book to color in Mr. Green, and in the back of the book there are suggestions on how to go green at home.

The washers and dryers used by the hotel are the most efficient on the market. The company fills their washers and dryers to the very top before doing a load. When possible, Golden Arrow uses cold water to wash the laundry.

For Christmas 2006, the hotel sent out Christmas cards to all of its repeat guests. For each card returned, the hotel donated $5 to a wildlife fund, thus encouraging their customers to help Golden Arrow help the planet.

I believe what the hotel is doing is great. They are trying to help the environment but also encourage and educate their customers to help the environment. I hope more hotels go green like the Golden Arrow. Companies cannot make the excuse that they may lose customers because Golden Arrow can be used as a model. They have not lost customers and are operating well. In this economy, companies might not want to make the changes, but they should try to go green over time. I believe that going green could also save the companies money in the long run by being more efficient. I personally did not know that hotels could go to these lengths to be green, and I am pleasantly shocked that a hotel would go this far to help the environment. On top of all that, the Golden Arrow is trying to come up with new ways to go green every day. The company is running and is still making a profit.

Second Place Zoe Zhang Bergen County Technical Schools, Teterboro, N.J. “Suiting Up”

My father arrived in this country nearly penniless. He lived in his aunt’s house and got his master’s degree while working as a teacher’s assistant. When he graduated, he was as destitute, if not more, than when he first got off the Boeing that had ferried him from Beijing to New York City. Broke and surviving off his aunt’s generosity, Dad was desperate for a job.

Typical protocol for an interview declares that punctuality is a must; he somehow managed to arrive late because, as Dad admits to me sheepishly, he didn’t know how to knot his tie properly. Though being late seems to violate every rule in the book, his logic was that it would make a bad situation worse by failing to arrive properly dressed. As a teenager who tried to wear jeans to a wedding, I thought the whole concept of there being a “right” thing to wear was absurd. It wasn’t until I saw a commercial for Men’s Wearhouse’s National Suit Drive that I saw the importance of dress and its impact on first impressions. One could call it an upsetting example of how superficial society is, or one could say the idea exemplifies the importance of proper garb. Either way, all would agree that a man who shows up at a job interview dressed in a sweatshirt and a pair of Levi’s is probably not walking away with the job.

My father was fortunate enough to have a male cousin from whom he could borrow a sports coat and a pair of dress pants, but for many others, the closest thing they have is a duffle coat and a pair of khakis. As a girl who detests formalwear of any type, I have never set so much as a toe inside Men’s Wearhouse, but I know from my mother’s accounts that a suit going for $50 or $80 is a great deal. Though Men’s Wearhouse’s goods are not for the unemployed, the clothing retailer is still helping to dress them up for their big day.

This is the first year that Men’s Wearhouse is sponsoring a National Suit Drive, though they have been helping to provide professional attire to the unemployed seeking to enter the workforce for nearly a decade. Through its campaign, North America’s leading specialty retailer in men’s dress apparel collects gently worn professional wear and distributes them to over 120 non-profit organizations, who in turn give them to jobless men seeking a favorable first impression. Men’s Wearhouse has also spearheaded the Capitol PurSuit Drive in Washington, D.C., gathering more than 10,000 clothing items in one day.

Men’s Wearhouse describes its efforts as “the first step towards a second chance” for at-risk men and youth. The reasoning behind the campaign is that if a person has a stable, reliable source of income, he is less likely to resort to illegal or immoral approaches to making money. Men’s Wearhouse staunchly believes that having a job once again will help a person take back control over his life.

It seems ironic that a retailer making its revenue solely from selling professional attire would be advancing a program that provides clothes for free. While there is irony, it’s also indubitable that none would know the significance of a suit better than Men’s Wearhouse. They understand it so well that they offer a 10% discount to all who donate, and also pledge to contribute a dress shirt for every suit they receive. Men’s Wearhouse obviously wants their suit drive to be a success, because they also paid for valuable primetime commercials to make everyone aware of their campaign.

Throughout the nine years that Men’s Wearhouse has helped underserved men, it has collected more than 65,000 articles that can help lead these men towards the path of self-sufficiency. Though thousands of men will have access to donated suits, women obviously can’t be expected to arrive at an interview in men’s clothes. I believe that Men’s Wearhouse should challenge another company, such as Liz Claiborne, to stage a similar campaign for women. Together, the two retailers could do a world of good for disadvantaged people looking for an opportunity to turn their lives around.

Any act of corporate responsibility should be sincere and deeply rooted. Men’s Wearhouse isn’t just involved in a single, month-long suit drive. It also participates in a variety of programs, from Day of Self Esteem to the Capitol PurSuit Drive. One month of aiding the disadvantaged is just another excuse to stick a segment about it in the company’s next commercial. The success of a program also depends heavily on the setting of the project. By staging the PurSuit Drive in our nation’s capitol, the multitude of lobbyists and political staff who are used to being trussed up in formalwear helped make the drive a success.

Men’s Wearhouse has helped a huge amount of people become self-sufficient, productive members of society, and through their efforts, they have made customers more willing to walk into their stores and buy something, thanks to the 10% discount they received for donating an item. In this economy especially, any discount is welcomed. Men’s Wearhouse’s “second chance” program works in many ways, from helping the truly needy to becoming a smart, intelligent way to produce more profits.

Oh, and Dad? Thanks to his properly knotted tie, he got the job.

Related Links

• The KWHS Essay Contest: “Starting a New Business” Winners
• Wharton Announces Essay Contest Winners
• Grameen Bank
• Gujarat Cooperative
• Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort
• Men’s Wearhouse National Suit Drive
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability News

One comment on “ The KWHS Essay Contest: Social Responsibility in the Corporate World ”

It is so awesome to see such socially-minded and young entrepreneurs. This is one of the few things that gives me hope for the future. Personally, I am a young entrepreneur, who is trying to make the world a better place just like these kids. We sell eco friendly shoes for affordable prices. Thanks for the read and keep up the good work.

-Tad Bamboo Shoes

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