News
Adolescents Have a Fundamental Need to Contribute
March 1, 2019Center board member Dr. Andrew Fuligni, UCLA, writes for The Conversation about a missing piece in the discussion about adolescent well-being: their fundamental need to contribute to others.
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
Using Phone Apps to Detect Mental Illness in Adolescents
January 3, 2019Center board member Dr. Nick Allen talked to reporter Lindsey Tanner of the Associated Press about how smartphone apps may soon be able to detect adolescent depression to get real-time help to those who need it.
The Science Behind Tweens’ Risky Behavior—and Why It Can Help Them in The Long Run
September 18, 2018Center board member Dr. Adriana Galván, UCLA, talked to the Washington Post about the importance of healthy risk taking for adolescents, and why we need to stop creating narratives that pathologize this key developmental window.
We shouldn’t disregard the ideas that come from teens’ developing brains
February 28, 2018Center board member Dr. Nicholas Allen explains why we should listen to adolescents. “What adolescents bring to a situation is this capacity for innovation and new thinking and for experimentation,” he says. “That is absolutely critical to culture. If we don’t have that, then culture remains the same.”
Teens aren’t just risk machines – there’s a method to their madness
February 6, 2018Adolescent risk-taking strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. Center board member Dr. Jennifer Pfeifer and her colleagues at the University of Oregon explain how adolescents' appetite for risks is essential for learning about themselves and exploring the wider world.