Adolescent Brains Are Wired to Want Status and Respect: That’s an Opportunity for Teachers and Parents
Adolescent Brains Are Wired to Want Status and Respect: That’s an Opportunity for Teachers and Parents
Additional Resources
This fact sheet gives an overview of adolescent brain development and explains how access to resources, opportunities, and meaningful relationships during adolescence can build connections within our brains and with the world around us that support us into adulthood.
Brain development during adolescence is fundamentally a story of connections.
Around age 9 or 10, hormonal changes kick off a period of intense learning and development, when brain cells form, strengthen, and streamline connections in response to our experiences more rapidly than in any period of life after early childhood.
Activity increases especially in the brain networks that propel us to explore the world, learn from our mistakes, and connect with others in new ways. In turn, these new experiences prompt our brain cells to connect with other neurons in ways that help us adapt to new events and new information. These neural connections become stronger the more we use them, while unused connections are pruned away, helping the brain become more efficient at acquiring and mastering new skills and new ways of thinking.
This brain-building learning happens through direct experiences in our environments and interactive, responsive relationships—with our families and peers, in our classrooms and neighborhoods, in community activities, and even online. The resources, opportunities, and experiences we as adults provide in and out of school can help young people’s brains build the extensive networks of connections that will manage the complex knowledge and behaviors needed to navigate adulthood.
Learning by Exploring the World Around Us
One of the networks that changes significantly with the increase in hormones and dopamine at the beginning of puberty is the “reward system” in our brain. Heightened activity in this system increases the feeling of reward we get from exploring the world, taking risks, and learning from the results.
Meanwhile, the network of brain regions that make up the “social brain” also changes during adolescence. These changes help us tune into social and emotional cues, like facial expressions or social rejection and approval, and increase our desire to earn respect and contribute to others. It also enables us to learn the nuances of changing social contexts in ways that help prepare us for adult relationships.
The prefrontal cortex (the region of the brain that orchestrates critical thinking and behavioral control) undergoes its most rapid period of development during adolescence. It builds on many other systems within the brain to manage our responses to the flood of new information and intensifying emotions. Engaging with other people and our environment and learning from our successes and our mistakes, known as “action-based learning,” helps shape the prefrontal cortex by strengthening the connections within it and between it and other brain networks. We learn through repeated practice—which includes trying and sometimes failing—what is adaptive and appropriate in different situations and how to guide our behavior accordingly, in ways that equip us to pursue new forward-looking goals.
When adults provide youth with opportunities to try new things, to practice navigating emotions, and to learn from failures along the way, it helps build the brain connections that we all need to grow into healthy, thriving adults.
Policies, Experiences, and Mindsets Shape the Connecting Brain
Although we can continue to learn new skills and behaviors as adults, the adaptability of the brain during adolescence means that these connections are much more likely to form quickly in response to experiences. The extent of these changes make the adolescent years a critical window when investments in the right policies and programs for youth can shape long-term positive development.
Likewise, this makes the adolescent years a time when negative experiences including racism, other forms of discrimination, poverty, or abuse can create steeper hills for young people to climb toward a healthy adulthood. When adults ensure that all young people, especially those who have experienced earlier adversity, have what they need along their journey, they can build the skills and capacities they need to thrive as adults. This includes opportunities to explore and take healthy risks, to connect with and contribute to those around us, to make decisions and learn from the outcomes, to develop a healthy sense of identity, and to rely on support from parents or other caring adults.
Understanding how and why the brain develops during adolescence lets us provide the support young people need to build healthy connections—in their world and within their brains—that will help our youth and our communities thrive.
_320_400_80_c1.jpg)
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.
We are excited to introduce our first quarterly Research Roundup–an overview of some of the recent research that highlights the important learning and growth of our adolescent years, and how adults can support positive development.
You can suggest research articles for future roundups by emailing cda@psych.ucla.edu or sign up to receive the quarterly research roundup in your inbox.
- Real-world exploration increases throughout adolescence and is related to positive affect, risk-taking, and social connectedness.
- The school environment is associated with brain connectivity and mental health in adolescents.
- Neighborhood safety is associated with adolescent cognitive and brain function.
- Changes in brain activity related to rewards for others is associated with increased charitable giving in older adolescents compared to younger adolescents.
- The presence of a peer leads to more prosocial behavior in adolescents by enhancing sensitivity to others’ outcomes.
Exploration & Risk Taking
Oh, the places you’ll go! Real-world exploration is beneficial for adolescent well-being.
Natalie Saragosa-Harris and co-authors examined adolescent risk taking by using geolocation tracking to record the amount of exploration–visiting new places or taking new routes–in daily movement patterns of about 60 adolescents and adults (ages 13 to 27) over a three-month period in New York City. Older adolescents, ages 18 to 21, were most likely to explore, meaning that their movements around the city varied the most over the course of the day. Both adolescents and adults felt better on days when they explored more, and more exploration was linked to larger social networks. Interestingly, adolescents also showed a link between real-world exploration and self-reported risk-taking behaviors. (Psychological Science, September 2022)
- Why this is important
This is the first study to link real-world exploration to positive well-being and risk-taking in adolescents, highlighting how important it is for teenagers to have opportunities to explore and try new things.
Environments & Brain Development
Got school on the brain: Favorable school environments associated with brain functioning in early adolescence.
Divyangana Rakesh and colleagues explored associations between how adolescents rated their school environment—based on factors such as availability of extracurricular activities, how supported and safe they feel, and their relationships with teachers—and brain development in more than 10,000 early adolescents, ages 9 to 10. School environment ratings were related to connectivity in higher-brain networks that are important for cognition and attention. The patterns of connectivity within these networks were associated with adolescent mental health. Factors including extracurricular activities and support of teachers showed the strongest associations with brain connectivity and positive mental health. (Biological Psychiatry, January 2023)
- Why this is important
This study highlights the importance of positive school environments (including having supportive teachers and available extracurricular programs) in adolescence by showing how a supportive school climate affects connectivity of brain networks, which in turn can contribute to positive mental health in young adolescents.
The importance of neighborhood safety for brain and cognitive function in adolescents
May Conley and colleagues examined the link between neighborhood threats, cognitive performance, and brain activity in more than 10,000 9- and 10-year-olds across the United States. Results showed that youth who reported high neighborhood threat or who reported high threat across the contexts of their neighborhood, family, and school performed worse on an emotional-cognitive task. (The task involved quickly indicating whether a neutral, happy, or fearful face matched a previously viewed image.)
In youth who reported high neighborhood threat, their low performance on the task was linked to lower activity in regions of the brain’s “executive network” that are important for cognition and self-control. This may be because in unsafe environments, the brain is working to assess potential threats, which makes it harder to perform well on cognitive tasks or engage in self-control. Results also suggested that the combination of neighborhood threats and less activity in the brain’s executive network contributes to risk for externalizing problems (negative feelings directed outward, such as aggression and delinquent behavior) in adolescence. (Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, January 2023)
- Why this is important
This study highlights the importance of ensuring safe neighborhoods to support healthy cognitive development and positive behaviors.
Contribution
Choosing charity: Reward-related neural response and age-related increase in charitable donations in adolescence
Jochem Spaans and colleagues examined changes by age in donations to charity and in brain activity related to getting rewards for oneself or for a charity in a group of 10- to 22-year-olds. Participants played a digital game in which they saw gains for themselves or for a charity, and also decided whether to give to the charity or gain rewards for themselves. Older adolescents chose to donate to charity more often than younger adolescents and reported less enjoyment when receiving rewards overall. Across all participants, activity in the brain regions involved in processing rewards was higher when receiving rewards for self than for charity. However, this difference decreased with age–older participants’ brain activity was similar when receiving rewards for themselves as for charity, and was linked to their increase in charitable donations. (Journal of Research on Adolescence, November 2022)
- Why this is important
This study highlights the increase in charitable behavior as adolescents get older.
Putting the “pro” back in “prosocial”: The presence of a peer increases prosocial behavior in adolescents
In this study, Nicolette Sullivan and colleagues examined how 58 high school juniors and seniors responded to a digital game involving rewards that could benefit themselves, their friend, or both equally. When the adolescents were alone, they tended to allocate more money to themselves in the decision-making game. However, when their peer, a close friend, was present, adolescents were more likely to provide more rewards for that peer. Adolescents also responded more quickly to outcomes that benefited their friend when that friend was with them. This suggests that adolescents are sensitive to outcomes that benefit others in the presence of a peer, and this effect is linked to more prosocial behavior. (Scientific Reports, August 2022)
- Why this is important
This study suggests that during adolescence, the presence of a peer can promote positive, helping behaviors.
In this quarterly Research Roundup, we provide an overview of some recent research into the adolescent years, showcasing the interactions between adolescent brain development and our environments, social connections, and sense of identity.
In this quarterly Research Roundup, we provide an overview of some recent research into the adolescent years, showcasing the interactions between adolescent brain development and our environments, social connections, and sense of identity.
You can suggest research articles for future roundups by emailing cda@psych.ucla.edu or sign up to receive the quarterly research roundup in your inbox.
Environments & Brain Development
- Brain systems involved in learning and emotional development grow and change in response to the socioeconomic environment in adolescence
- State-level anti-poverty programs can help reduce the negative effects of socioeconomic disparities in brain development and mental health in early adolescence
- Stressful environments are linked to more impulsive behavior during adolescence due to their detrimental effects on sleep
Relationships & Social Connection
- Social connectedness in early adolescence is associated with structural connectivity within the brain
- High acceptance from parents can protect against mental health problems in adolescence related to earlier puberty
Identity Development
- Prefrontal cortex activity during self-evaluation peaks in adolescence and contributes to identity development
Environments & Brain Development
Brain systems involved in learning and emotional development grow and change in response to the socioeconomic environment in adolescence
In a study of 1,033 youth ages 8 to 23, Valerie Sydnor and colleagues assessed the development of neural plasticity–our brains’ ability to grow and change in response to our experiences–by tracking changes in brain activity across ages as well as the influence of youths’ neighborhood socioeconomic environment. Results showed that the plasticity of brain systems involved in learning and emotional development peaked around 15 years old and declined from there, suggesting a sensitive period during which our brains are primed for adapting and changing in response to our environment. The effects of the socioeconomic environment on brain function also peaked in mid-adolescence and were strongest in areas such as the prefrontal cortex, indicating that the regions that showed greater plasticity in adolescence were also those most susceptible to environmental influence. (Nature, March 2023)
Why this is important: By showing that brain systems involved in learning and emotional development are sensitive to environmental influence in adolescence, this paper highlights the opportunity for targeted interventions focused on enriching the neighborhood environment, such as by increasing access to physical and educational resources, to be especially effective during this developmental period.
State-level anti-poverty programs can help reduce the negative effects of socioeconomic disparities in brain development and mental health in early adolescence
In this study, David Weissman and colleagues explored associations between socioeconomic status, brain development, and internalizing symptoms (such as anxiety and depression) in a sample of 10,000+ youth ages 9 to 11 living across 17 different states. Youth with lower family income showed smaller volumes of the hippocampus, a region important for learning and memory, as well as higher levels of internalizing symptoms, particularly for those young people living in states with a high cost of living. However, in high-cost-of-living states that provided more generous benefits for low-income families, the differences in hippocampal volumes and mental health issues were reduced, with more generous cash benefits lessening the associations between low income and brain and behavioral effects. (Nature, May 2023)
Why this is important: This paper suggests that state-level anti-poverty programs aimed at aiding and protecting adolescents in low-income families can reduce the negative effects of socioeconomic disparities in brain development and mental health in adolescents.
Stressful environments are linked to more impulsive behavior during adolescence due to their detrimental effects on sleep
In a sample of 11,000+ youth (ages 9 to 11 at baseline) assessed over three time points, Linhao Zhang and colleagues tested whether sleep problems explained the link between stressful environments and later impulsivity. They also tested how connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of the brain (involved in behavioral control, stress regulation, and sleep patterns in adolescents) affected this link. Stressful environments were shown to be related to later higher impulsivity largely due to their impact on adolescent sleep. Further, youth who began the study with greater connectivity within the DMN showed a stronger link between sleep duration and later impulsivity, suggesting that heightened within-DMN connectivity may be a risk factor for sleep-related effects on impulsivity later in adolescence. (Sleep Health, June 2023)
Why this is important: These findings suggest that lack of sleep may explain the link between stressful environments and increased impulsivity in adolescence, highlighting the potential of sleep interventions to support healthy behavioral development.
Relationships & Social Connection
Social connectedness in early adolescence is associated with structural connectivity in the brain
In this study of 73 12-year-olds, Christina Driver and colleagues explored how social connectedness—an adolescent’s sense of closeness to and belonging with others—is reflected in structural connectivity of the brain as measured through white matter, the network of fibers that allow the exchange of information between brain regions. Young people who were more socially connected showed greater brain connectivity across numerous long-range white matter pathways. Youth who reported less social connectedness showed less structural connectivity. Other factors, including gender and levels of psychological distress, did not appear to affect the relationships between social connectedness and structural connectivity in the brain. (Behavioral Brain Research, February 2023)
Why this is important: This study highlights the importance of social connectedness for brain and behavioral functioning in adolescence.
Acceptance from parents can protect against mental health problems in adolescence related to earlier puberty
In this study, Nandita Vijayakumar and colleagues examined the connection between early pubertal timing and mental health problems by looking at connections between brain regions involved in emotional reactivity and regulation (called “corticolimbic connectivity”). In a sample of 10,000+ children and adolescents ages 9 to 14 , the authors found that youth who underwent puberty earlier than their peers showed less connectivity between the limbic system–involved in processing basic emotions–and a range of other brain networks, partly explaining the link between earlier pubertal timing and symptoms of depression. Importantly, the study also found that youth who experience higher levels of acceptance from their parents were less likely to experience these changes in corticolimbic connectivity, suggesting that a positive family environment can reduce the negative effects of earlier pubertal timing. (Psychological Medicine, June 2023)
Why this is important: This study suggests how early pubertal timing may lead to mental health problems and highlights the potential for positive family environments to help protect against these problems.
Identity Development
Prefrontal cortex activity during self-evaluation in adolescence contributes to identity development
In this longitudinal study of 189 10- to 24-year-olds, Renske van der Cruijsen and colleagues examined how youths’ own opinions of themselves, what they believed their peers thought about them, and related activity in the brain changes over adolescence. Youth evaluated themselves in the areas of academics, physical appearance, and prosocial behavior (such as helping others) from their own and their peers’ perspectives while undergoing a brain scan across three time points. In the brain, activity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—a crucial region for self-identity—was more responsive to self-evaluation than to perceived peers’ opinions, peaking in mid-to-late adolescence and leveling out in young adulthood. Activity in the temporal parietal junction (TPJ)—an important region for understanding the mental state of oneself or others—was stronger for perceived peers’ evaluations, and increased by age. Youth with more positive self-evaluations showed more stable self-concept and less fear of negative evaluation by others one to two years later. (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, January 2023)
Why this is important: This study shows that brain regions involved in self-identity are especially sensitive to self-evaluation in adolescence and highlights the importance of developing positive self-concept during this window of development.