Resource Library

Video: Youth Engagement Matters

March 28, 2023 | Filed in: Video

How to create meaningful, effective youth engagement programs based on insights from developmental science

Spring 2023 Research Roundup

March 17, 2023 | Filed in: Research Roundup | STEPS for Youth | Education | Out-of-School Time

In our first quarterly Research Roundup, we review recent research that highlights the importance of exploration, the impact of school and neighborhood environments, charitable giving, and the positive influence of peers during our adolescent years.

Youth Engagement in Research and Evaluation

January 16, 2023 | Filed in: Guide | STEPS for Youth | Community Engagement | Out-of-School Time

Two guides, for practitioners and for funders, help organizations build and support effective, research-informed youth engagement programs that benefit young people and the groups they work with.

Engaging, Safe, and Evidence-Based: What Science Tells Us Adolescents Need When Online

November 16, 2022 | Filed in: Council Report | STEPS for Youth | Education | Mental Health | Digital Tech

This council report from the National Scientific Council on Adolescence offers research-based suggestions for policymakers and technology companies to ensure that digital tech used by middle-school-aged youth promotes positive development and keeps young users safe online.

Adolescence: A Critical Window to Influence Youth Mental Health

October 3, 2022 | Filed in: Fact Sheet | Brief

Research into cognitive and social development tells us that adolescence is a critical period to influence the mental health of young people. We can help young people not just survive but thrive by exposing them to conditions and experiences that support their developmental needs during these years.

Navigating Transitions: Resources from the YNSCA

September 14, 2022 | Filed in: Fact Sheet

Our adolescent years mark a time of transition, as our bodies and brains mature and we explore and learn from our experiences and the world around us. Along the journey from childhood to adulthood, there are other major transitions along the way—the transition from middle school to high school, from high school to college or career, and into adulthood. The Youth National Scientific Council on…

Youth Need Access to Comprehensive Reproductive Care and Education

July 8, 2022

As an organization dedicated to improving the health, education, and wellbeing of adolescents through science, we support access to comprehensive reproductive information and healthcare—including abortion—for adolescents. Adolescence is a critical window for supporting positive development, and restrictions on access to reproductive health information and reproductive healthcare have a…

2022 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium: Supporting Exploratory Learning During Adolescence

June 2, 2022 | Filed in: Video

Our first annual Symposium on Adolescent Brain Development in May 2022 brought together researchers, practitioners, and funders to discuss the following key question: How can we best support adolescents’ need to explore and learn about themselves and the world around them?

5 Facts About the Importance of Caring Adults During Our Adolescent Years

March 30, 2022 | Filed in: Fact Sheet

As we mature during adolescence, exercising more responsibility and personal agency, we become less physically dependent on adult caregivers. Yet parents and other caring adults remain as important to our healthy development as when we were younger. Below are five fast facts about the important role parents and other caring adults continue to play throughout our adolescent years. Secure and…

Breaking Up: Love and Loss in Adolescence

February 17, 2022 | Filed in: Video

Adolescence is a time of intense social learning, and romantic relationships, and even breakups, can be powerful learning experiences during these years. But how can adults support this learning while young people are hurting? In a recent panel discussion, experts Dr. Nicole Green (UCLA), Dr. Ahna Suleiman (Sacramento State University), and Youth National Scientific Council members Makayla Dawkins…