News
Fewer ‘Likes’ Can Cause Emotional Distress
September 22, 2020In this recent study in Child Development, co-author David Yeager and colleagues show that getting fewer 'likes' than others leads to increased feelings of rejection, especially for young people already feeling victimized IRL.
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
What Back to School Might Look Like in the Age of COVID-19
July 30, 2020Center founding director Dr. Ron Dahl talks about the importance of engaging adolescents in safety solutions in this illustrated guide on how schools are planning to reopen in the midst of the pandemic.
Neuroscientist Adriana Galván Named Dean of Undergraduate Education
June 26, 2020Center board member Adriana Galván has been named UCLA's dean of undergraduate education. In addition to serving on the Center's Leadership Team and National Scientific Council, Professor Galván is a professor of psychology, holds the Wendell Jeffrey and Bernice Wenzel Term Chair in Behavioral Neuroscience, and is director of the Developmental Neuroscience Lab at UCLA. Congratulations, Adriana!
What Happens When Kids Don’t See Their Peers for Months
June 24, 2020"[Adolescents] have a natural affinity for learning about not just their peers and those strong friendships, but about ‘me’ in relationship to others,” says Dr. Ron Dahl, the Center's Founding Director, in this article for The Atlantic about what it means for young people to miss their friends for so long.
Coronaprofile: Quaran-teens? How are young people coping with the pandemic?
June 23, 2020"[Young people] need to have their own role in this brave new world and feel that they can contribute to the larger goals of society," says neuroscientist Dr. Eveline Crone, in this interview about her ongoing research about the effects of coronavirus lockdowns on the developing adolescent brain.
Mobile Technology May Support Kids Learning to Recognize emotions in Photos of Faces
June 2, 2020The increase in screen-time to connect with grandparents, teachers, and friends during the COVID pandemic has fed existing concerns that all this virtual interaction could be impeding social learning. In this article for The Conversation, Dr. Yalda Uhls, founder of the Center for Scholars and Storytellers, talks about her recent study in which kids who grew up with tablets and smartphones were actually better at reading emotions in photographs.
Panicking About Your Kids’ Phones? New Research Says Don’t
January 17, 2020NSCA member Dr. Candice Odgers talked with reporter Nathaniel Popper about what the evidence really shows about digital media and youth.
The Truth About Screen Time
December 19, 2019Screen time for adolescents isn’t just a question of good or bad. The truth, as this article featuring Center Advisory Board member Nick Allen and Founding Director Ron Dahl explains, is that we need more nuanced information about who, how much, when, and what they’re not doing instead.
Why Adolescents Need Regular Sleep—and Plenty of It
October 2, 2019Sleep is a major health issue for adolescents, affecting adolescent mood, immunity, and even weight. Science News for Students talked to our Advisory Board member Andrew Fuligni, UCLA, about how getting enough sleep throughout the week is essential to mental health and academic success.
Coming of Age in the Animal Kingdom: Linda Wilbrecht Reviews “Wildhood”
September 26, 2019Center Advisory Board member and UC Berkeley neuroscientist Linda Wilbrecht reviews the new book Wildhood. The book, Prof. Wilbrecht explains, details coming-of-age stories from across the natural world, revealing commonalities between animals that "celebrate the beauty and complexity of our own species’ journey into the big wide world."