Filed in: Contribution | Identity | Community Engagement
In the first discussion at the UCLA Center for the Developing Adoelscent’s third annual Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, journalist Lydia Denworth spoke with Eva Telzer, Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Cheyenne Brady, Associate Director of Youth Programs at the Center for Native American Youth; and Jenna Makes Good, a fellow within the Center for Native American Youth, about the importance of helping young people develop their identity through culturally informed civic engagement organizations and opportunities.
The discussion began with Eva Telzer briefly introducing some key concepts in the science of adolescence that make civic engagement during this developmental period so impactful.
“[During adolescence] The brain changes more so than any other developmental period other than right after birth,” Eva said. These changes in the brain create a crucial period of opportunity for young people to engage in social learning, exploration, and self-discovery, she explained.
Eva highlighted two important changes in the brain that could influence adolescents to want to contribute civically and could make this contribution important to their identity development.
“First, there is this overlap in activation in an area of the prefrontal cortex where adolescents show heightened activation both when thinking about themselves but also when they are thinking about others,” Eva explained. This heightened brain activation shows that adolescence is a crucial period in forming individual identities, and these identities are neurologically informed by those around us.
“Literally, thinking about ourselves involves thinking about others,” said Eva.
“The second really important developmental change in the brain is this hypersensitivity in reward-related regions,” Eva continued. “What’s really important here is that not only do adolescents show heightened activation in the ventral striatum when gaining rewards for themselves, but also when gaining rewards for important people in their lives.”
This research suggests that when adolescents contribute to their communities, and when their contributions are recognized, these experiences can be extremely socially rewarding. Developmental science also tells us that there is a fundamental need to contribute during adolescence that is necessary for healthy development.
But, how we support our youth in contributing to their communities matters.
One organization that supports adolescents’ fundamental need to contribute in an informed and innovative way is the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY). Cheyenne Brady, the Associate Director of Youth Programs at CNAY, introduced the CNAY, an organization that works to support the health and well-being of native youth, with a primary focus on young people aged 18 to 24. The CNAY uses developmental science within the context of their own communities and cultures to create opportunities for youth to become leaders and spark community action.
“We are a firm believer that youth everywhere know their community best and we pride ourselves in listening to what they need and supporting them in creating the changes that they want to see,” said Cheyenne.
By amplifying youth voices, the CNAY has been able to create meaningful experiences that inform their young people’s sense of identity and tell them that their ideas and contributions matter. And, helping young people find a voice within their community and culture can both support their individual sense of identity as well as their cultural sense of identity.
“Research has shown that culture is a massive protective factory; it enhances our outcomes, it promotes positive decision-making,” said Cheyenne.
Panelist Jenna Makes Good was selected as part of the inaugural class of CNAY’s Brave Hearth Fellows. Through this fellowship, she was able to use her voice to uplift causes important to her and her tribes, selecting a ‘community action project.’
“Where we come from often dictates what’s important to us,” Jenna said.
The project she selected was organizing a mural designed and created by Native artists to will adorn an Osage immersion school. This freedom and support to use her voice and find what was meaningful to her and her community was deeply impactful on her sense of purpose and identity.
“It feels really good to do these things for my community and it only solidifies my identity,” said Jenna.
The panelists agreed that there is more work to be done in each sector to encourage youth to contribute civically and support healthy adolescent identity development.
“Just sitting on this stage, it’s clear that the questions that we ask [as researchers] need to come from partnerships with the community,” said Eva.
Cheyenne added that we need to fill the “gaps in our holistic community support” and provide historically and culturally informed programming that supports every community’s unique identity. These types of programs can help young people become engaged in issues that matter to them and their communities and help build communities that thrive.
“If we allow [our youth] to lead, they will lead us into really really great places and create generational shifts for our adolescents and our future generations,” Cheyenne concluded.
In the last discussion of our 2024 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, Joanna Williams, Senior Director of Research at Search Institute, took the stage with Le’Yondo Dunn, CEO of YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, and Haafizah Carter, an alumnus of the school, to talk about the impact of civic engagement on purpose.
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.
