Blog: Learning & Education

Economic Support for the Transition to Adulthood

Transitioning 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.

Building a Thriving Workforce: Career Preparation During Adolescence

“Workforce development and focusing on career preparation is fundamentally a developmental question,” says Andrew Fuigni, co-executive director of UCLA CDA, to kick off the first panel discussion of our 2025 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium on economic opportunity.

So, how do we create career preparation policies and programs that effectively support young people in the pursuit of meaningful careers while integrating developmental science to support positive development and future outcomes?

The Opportunities and Effects of Climate Action on Adolescents

Adolescence is a period of significant brain and social development, when we are particularly sensitive to the world around us. This sensitivity can create challenges to young people’s mental health and well-being when they experience or are exposed to information and images about climate change. But these changes can also increase youth’s motivation to participate in climate action, which can mitigate these negative effects while providing an opportunity for them to fill key developmental needs.

The Impact of Civic Engagement on Exploration and Risk Taking

In the third discussion of our 2024 symposium, science journalist Lydia Denworth talked with Natasha Duell, assistant professor of Psychology and Child Development at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, LaJuan Allen, director of Vote16USA, and Audrey Rothenberg, a senior at Culver City High School and volunteer at Vote16 Culver City about how civic engagement can support the need to explore and take positive risks during adolescence.

Fostering Belonging Through Developmental Relationships

National Scientific Council on Adolescence member Joanna Williams, Senior Director of Research at Search Institute, talked about what it means to belong, why it matters in education, and how adults can help students feel a sense of belonging at school.

The Uncharted Odyssey: Navigating the Complex World of Adolescence

Students Kobe Wood and Bless Jellene Patawaran explain what they learned about the science of adolescence during their two weeks at the 2023 UCLA CDA Adolescent Development Summer Boot Camp for high schoolers.

Supporting Youth as They Go Back to School

Digital Content Contributor Allyson Nesmith talks with Nancy Deutsch, PhD, Director of Youth-Nex at the University of Virginia, and Joyce Pae, Principal at the Chicago Academy K-8 School, about how parents, teachers, and other caring adults can help students navigate going back to school.

Developing Youth Engagement Programs to Help Young People Thrive

In our new blog post, we recap our recent youth engagement webinar, where panelists shared tips for building youth engagement programs that help young people (and those who serve them) succeed.

Caregiving Students Need More Support

In this blog post, developmental psychologist Emma Armstrong-Carter highlights a form of contributing that many adolescents provide for their families—caregiving—and offers research-informed suggestions for schools to support caregiving students.

Adolescence Across the Animal Kingdom

We talked with NSCA member and UC Berkeley neuroscientist Linda Wilbrecht about how insights from the animal kingdom can shift our perspective on the importance of our own human adolescent years.