In a new Washington Post article, NSCA member Anthony Burrow discusses his study on purpose during adolescence. During a six-year project, Burrow and his researchers selected around 1,200 adolescents to receive $400 no-strings “contributions” to pursue something that benefits their community, family, or even themselves. Eight weeks later, those who received the contributions scored significantly higher than the non-recipients on all measures: latent well-being, sense of purpose, sense of belonging, sense of feeling needed and useful, and affective balance.
In a new episode of the podcast CaseyCast, Annie E. Casey Foundation President and CEO Lisa Lawson and CDA’s co-executive director Adriana Galván discuss how to better support young people as they navigate the path to adulthood. This podcast episode is adapted from a fireside chat that took place at the 2026 Adolescent Brain Development Summit.
The UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent was cited in a New America article highlighting organizations and research that have supported the National Commission on Learning Ecosystems’ understanding of adolescent development and how to build ecosystems that support young people. The National Commission on Learning Ecosystems is a two-year initiative, announced in February 2026, that focuses on making stronger connections between U.S. public schools and out-of-school programs.
