Adolescents views of an unequal world: understanding economic inequality and factors for its reduction

Abstract

Economic inequality has a huge impact on well-being, also affecting adolescents, who are the future agents of our societies. Nevertheless, research often overlooks their perspectives on economic inequality, poverty, and their attitudes towards its reduction. The present research evaluates adolescents’ perceived and ideal economic inequality, causal attributions of poverty, support for collective action against economic inequality and meritocratic beliefs (in school or in general). Findings from this cross-sectional study involving Spanish adolescents (N = 942) reveal age-related differences being older teenagers who had higher ideal economic inequality, more general meritocratic beliefs and made more external causal attributions of poverty. Younger teenagers show greater endorsement of belief in school meritocracy. Beliefs in school meritocracy moderate perceived economic inequality, with stronger endorsement correlating with increased economic inequality tolerance and lesser support for collective action as perceived economic inequality rises. External causal attributions of poverty and ideal economic inequality partially mediate the relationship between perceived economic inequality and support for collective action, shaping attitudes towards economic inequality and its reduction. Our research contributes to understanding adolescents’ comprehension of inequality and their motivation to reduce it. By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying adolescent perceptions of economic inequality and their implications for collective action, our findings pave the way for interventions and policies aimed at promoting social justice and well-being among adolescents and the rest of society.