ARI Working Paper Series

Taiwan Youth Project (TYP) is a longitudinal panel study taking the life course framework to examine the developmental process and life experiences among Taiwanese youth from early adolescence to young adulthood. Family, school and community as well as the interplay among them are regarded as salient social mechanisms affecting the growth trajectory of adolescence. In particular, TYP intends to explore indigenous developmental patterns for typical Chinese youth and utilizes both annual survey and in-depth interviews to illustrate the diversified path leading to the adulthood. he original samples were 5000 adolescents and their parents who were in the first year and third year of junior high school in 2000 and were followed until 2009. It is assumed that the highly competitive educational environment and the accompanied social pressure dominate this life stage which result in various outcomes. In addition, changing values and life styles may produce significant life choices in the long run. In this speech, I will present selective findings to highlight the social context Taiwanese youth is facing nowadays and the overall developmental outcomes observed. Specifically, I will talk about the educational tracking system and the psychological well-being over time; the prevalence of cram classes and the family expectation behind it; the romantic relations and pre-marital sex among young adults; and the early work experiences and its potential effects. Contextual structures accounted for the diverse growth trajectories for Taiwanese youth as well as relational effects will both be focused. We hope that with the available panel data over the last 10 years, a clearer pattern of adolescent development in Taiwan may be better captured.