Past research into adolescent brain and behavior has enriched our understanding of general developmental patterns. However, the effects of societal influences on youth development remain under explored.

How is development influenced by opportunities while growing up? What is the impact of relationships with parents or peers, or involvement in antisocial environments? What fuels resilience in young individuals and under what circumstances does development go astray? 

Growing Up Together in Society (GUTS) is a 10-year longitudinal research program that combines socioeconomic indicators, questionnaires, behavioral tasks,  neuroimaging (fMRI, sMRI, EEG), experience-sampling methods, hormonal and genetic data to study the effects of diverse societal contexts on the way young people become engaged citizens in society.  

GUTS brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from seven universities to understand the mechanisms through which some adolescents manage to make a successful transition to adulthood in terms of societal contribution: education, employment, social relationships, delinquency, and general quality of life. Our shared goal is to create the knowledge and tools to better shape society into more equal chances for all youth. 

For more information, visit our research page.

Interested in connecting, collaborating, or contributing to our mission? Send us an e-mail (guts@eur.nl) 

All peer-reviewed publications from the GUTS project can be found here (sort by project GUTS). 

This work is funded by a Gravitation grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science under the leadership of  Eveline Crone (Gravitation file number 024.005.011).