Blog
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Love and Support from Caring Adults During Adolescence
February 27, 2026In this blog post, we explore the importance of loving and supportive relationships with adults during adolescence, and discuss the significance and characteristics of natural mentors and developmental relationships.
Highlights from 2025: Supporting Adolescents by Strengthening Our Commitments and Focusing on Impact
December 17, 2025Over the past year, the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent has been busy advancing our goal to support adolescents by amplifying developmental science. We refreshed and refined our mission, strengthened our community, launched a new multi-year initiative to support economic development, supported developmental science-informed policies and programs, and amplified the remarkable opportunities of adolescence. In this blog post, we share highlights, resources, and developments from 2025.
The Importance of Understanding and Investing in Adolescent Food Security
November 21, 2025Investing in programs and policies that provide adolescents with reliable access to quality food has been proven to support positive outcomes. In this blog post, we explain how food insecurity impacts young people and highlight recent changes to benefits and data collection that could impact consistent access to nutrition.
Press Releases
February 25, 2025: Announcing the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent’s 2024 Annual Report
January 17, 2023: New Guides Help Organizations Build Effective Youth Engagement Programs
August 16, 2021: New Report Examines Intersection of Anti-Black Racism on Youth Development
November 30, 2020: Center for the Developing Adolescent Announces New Advisory Board Members
October 1, 2020: Center for the Developing Adolescent Announces New Leadership
Stay in the Know
Inside the Adolescent Brain: The Impact of Friendships & Diversity
September 8, 2025Participants of the 2025 Summer Research Boot Camp explored the reasons why adolescent friendships are powerful for identity development. In this blog post, students explain how diverse friendships can foster inclusive mindsets and offer ways we can promote diverse friendships in school settings.
Using Science and Rejecting Stereotypes To Improve Adolescent Sleep
September 4, 2025This blog post, written by high school students who attended the 2025 Summer Research Boot Camp in Adolescent Development, explores the need and importance of sleep during adolescence and offers innovative solutions to help young people get more sleep during this critical period of growth and development.
Exploring the Remarkable Adolescent Brain as an Adolescent
August 27, 2025During the 2025 Summer Research Boot Camp, high school students from around the state came together for two weeks to learn about the developing adolescent brain. This blog post was written by some of the students and explains what they learned about brain and social development, and how it will inform their perspectives moving forward.
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How the Science of Contribution Can Inform Community Programs
August 5, 2025During adolescence, the ages of 10 to 25, immense physical and cognitive growth expands our ability to understand, support, and care for those around us. These years are a critical time in development when young people build the skills necessary to give back to their communities, and when brain and social development increase our capacity to contribute. Opportunities to contribute, to reflect on the meaning of our contributions, and to have our contributions recognized are all important for the future health and well-being of young people.
What the Research Says About Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth
June 30, 2025This month, in honor of Pride, we spoke with NSCA member Stephen Russell about the research on how to support young people who identify as LGBTQ+ in ways that enhance their own health and well-being, which also benefits the communities where they live.
Supporting Entrepreneurship and Economic Innovation during Adolescence
May 30, 2025Research has shown that adolescents are exceptional learners and are more willing than adults to explore situations with uncertain outcomes. In the last session of the 2025 Adolescent Development Symposium, researchers and young entrepreneurs discussed why brain development during adolescence makes us particularly inclined to innovate and participate in entrepreneurship, and how this can be a way for young people to take positive risks and even set them up for future success.
Economic Support for the Transition to Adulthood
May 29, 2025Transitioning to the responsibilities and demands of adulthood can be both exciting and challenging for us all. But without support, the challenges can make the path to a financially secure adulthood more difficult, as young people need to prioritize securing necessities like housing or food, and delay or forego opportunities that could increase their economic mobility. In the second session of the 2025 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, researchers, policymakers, and youth advocates discussed how we could use financial assistance to help young people navigate this transition to adulthood and how we should implement these types of programs.