Positive Development in Latin American Emerging Adults

This chapter presents some empirical evidence on the strikingly high level of life satisfaction, happiness, and optimism that young people in Latin America enjoy, comparable to those of the United States or the Netherlands, despite the difficult social, political, and economic context in which they are embedded. Moreover, around half of them flourish regardless their scarce social participation beyond the network of family members, friends, and trusted neighbors. Higher Latin American social closeness and support (rewarding current and past close relationships with family and friends) seem to be the main reason for these youths’ well-being and flourishing.