Youth’s Expectations for the Future: The Power of Looking Ahead

This paper examines youth’s expectations for the future, with special emphasis given to hopeful expectations for life chances broadly. I will highlight key findings from the multi-generational and longitudinal Youth Development Study (Minnesota, USA) that assess the influence of these life expectations on health, well-being, and attainment in the transition to adulthood, as well as the extent to which expectations serve to reproduce or disrupt inequalities across generations.