Research summary
Generativity is the desire and action to improve the well-being of future generations. It has far-reaching implications and is arguably the best predictor of successful adulthood. So how can we foster generativity as early as possible in young people to ensure they thrive?
Dr. Heather Lawford has been examining the developmental roots of generativity for the last half-decade. As Canada Research Chair in Youth Development, she aims to better understand how early generativity develops in both healthy and harmful contexts—such as whether generativity can be “weaponized” to serve violent extremism. She and her research team are focusing on small groups of youth from marginalized communities. They aim to use generativity as a lens to prevent violent extremism by developing a program that will, among other things, use comedy, drama and storytelling.