Youngster brought up as an equal (3)
I believe the answer is:
pup
'youngster' is the definition.
(a pup is a young dog)
'up as an equal' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'up' is within the answer.
A single letter 'p' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'brought' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pup that I've seen before include "Young of canines" , "Canine young" , "Young dog as palindrome" , "Whelp" , "Young animal" .)