When 15-year-old Lina from Zurich wrote about her most meaningful experience, she didn’t mention a crisis or trauma—she described passing her final school exams with honors, the pride in her parents’ eyes, and the quiet confidence that came with it. Lina’s story is not unique. In a groundbreaking study of 1,442 young people followed from adolescence into early adulthood, researchers at the University of Zurich found that 83% of the life events young people recall as formative are positive—everyday milestones like starting an apprenticeship, falling in love for the first time, or moving into their own apartment. These findings, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, challenge long-held assumptions that youth development is shaped primarily by stress and adversity.
For decades, psychological research has centered on risk, trauma, and crisis as the main drivers of growth. But this study, led by clinical developmental psychologist David Bürgin and co-led by Lilly Shanahan, reveals a different narrative—one built on progress, connection, and small but powerful wins. Nearly half of all formative events cited by participants were related to education, training, or school, underscoring how deeply academic and vocational milestones shape young identity. Friendships and romantic relationships followed closely, making up 12% of mentions, while travel, personal growth, and mental well-being accounted for another 15%.
What makes this study especially compelling is its method: the team used natural language processing to analyze thousands of open-ended responses written by participants at ages 15, 17, 20, and 24. This innovative approach allowed researchers to preserve the authenticity of young people’s voices while identifying clear thematic patterns. "Our analyses show how freely formulated responses from large longitudinal studies can be processed in such a way that they provide a structured picture of young people's experiences," says Christina Haag, now at the University of Cambridge and first author of the paper.
The data also reveal how priorities shift with age. In mid-adolescence, school, friendships, and leisure dominate. But by age 24, work, housing, independence, and even starting a family rise in importance. While young people with higher levels of anxiety and depression were more likely to recall stressful events—such as breakups, loss, or failure—they still reported more positive than negative milestones overall. The study also found that gender, migration background, and socioeconomic status influenced the types of events recalled, but core themes of education, relationships, and personal growth remained consistent across groups.
These findings carry real-world weight. As Shanahan notes, support services for youth should not focus solely on coping with stress. "Stable relationships, positive experiences, and opportunities to experience self-efficacy are just as important." In a world often fixated on youth mental health crises, this research offers a refreshing, evidence-based reminder: what shapes young lives most are not just the storms they weather, but the quiet victories they celebrate.