Enhancing adolescent social and emotional well‑being

Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterised by rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes that are often accompanied by declines in social and emotional well-being. This paper argues for an approach to promoting adolescents’ well-being that is tailored specifically to boys and girls and presents a cross-national analysis of social and emotional outcomes among adolescent girls and boys using data from the OECD Child Well-being Data Portal. It documents key trends, gaps between boys and girls and distinct patterns of vulnerability and examines how norms and stereotypes shape different well-being outcomes for girls and boys. The paper highlights the importance of supportive environments across families, schools, neighbourhoods and digital spaces, and shows how policies can address boys’ and girls’ heightened risk for specific challenges – such as boys’ higher academic disengagement and involvement in physical fighting, and girls’ greater body image concerns and vulnerability to online harms – while strengthening protective factors for all adolescents.