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
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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.
This issue provides an overview of research showcasing the effects of neighborhood environments on adolescent development, the benefits of culturally tailored interventions, the trajectory of executive function development, and links between rumination and neural response to social rejection.
In this issue of our quarterly Research Roundup, we provide an overview of some recent research showcasing the effects of neighborhood environments on adolescent development, the benefits of culturally tailored interventions, the trajectory of executive function development, and links between rumination and neural response to social rejection.
You can suggest research articles for future roundups by emailing CDAinfo@mednet.ucla.edu or sign up to receive the quarterly research roundup in your inbox.
- Exposure to urban greenspace in childhood can benefit attentional abilities in adolescence (October 2023)
- Large-scale datasets highlight mid-adolescence as a key period for the development of executive functions (October 2023)
- Culturally tailored interventions can help improve sexual health in American Indian adolescents (November 2023)
- Exposure to neighborhood poverty in childhood may impact brain network organization in adolescence (December 2023)
- Rumination is linked to altered neural responding and slowed reaction time to social rejection in adolescent girls (December 2023)
Exposure to urban greenspace in childhood can benefit attentional abilities in adolescence
In this study, Despina Bolanis and colleagues explored whether exposure to residential greenspace (such as a tree-filled city park) in childhood relates to mental health outcomes in adolescence. Using longitudinal data from 742 participants, the authors found that youth who reported living in urban areas with more greenspace at age 10 had fewer inattention problems as reported by teachers in adolescence (ages 15 to 17 years). This association remained even when controlling for factors such as family and neighborhood socioeconomic status and prior mental health problems. (Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, October 2023).
Why this is important: These findings point to the impact of physical environments on development, suggesting that increasing greenspace in cities and urban areas may support the development of attentional capacities in adolescence.
A canonical trajectory of executive function maturation from adolescence to adulthood
Adolescence is a key period for the development of goal-directed cognitive abilities—commonly known as executive functions—that are crucial for healthy development and can be impacted in mental health disorders. Understanding the standard pattern of executive function development in adolescence can highlight critical periods for executive function development, which in turn can help identify shifts from these normative patterns that could indicate future difficulties and disorders. In this study, Brandon Tervo-Clemmens and colleagues combined data from multiple large datasets and across various cognitive assessments and tasks to explore the developmental trajectory of executive functions in a group of 10,766 individuals ages 8 to 35 years. The authors found rapid and significant development in executive function from late childhood to mid-adolescence (ages 10 to 15 years), with these complex cognitive abilities reaching their full potential in late adolescence (ages 18 to 20 years). (Nature Communications, October 2023)
Why this is important: This study maps how executive function develops over adolescence, suggesting that ages 10 to 15 are crucial years for executive function development–an understanding that can help inform developmentally appropriate interventions and policies for youth.
Parenting in 2 Worlds: Testing improved parent–adolescent communication about sexuality in Urban American Indian families
In this study, Stephen Kulis and colleagues tested the efficacy of a culturally tailored intervention designed to increase and improve parent-adolescent communication about sexual health in American Indian families. The intervention, called Parenting in 2 Worlds (P2W), combined core components of a traditional parenting program with cultural elements unique to American Indian families. Participants included 575 parents/guardians of American Indian adolescents between the ages of 10 to 17 years living in urban areas of Arizona. The program consisted of 10 lessons covering topics such as building supportive parenting communities, identifying cultural traditions, understanding adolescent development, and fostering communication skills. Importantly, the curriculum emphasized Indigenous cultural heritage as a foundation for raising healthy and resilient adolescents, incorporating values shared by diverse American Indian communities such as notions of kinship and the importance of ritual and traditional language. Compared to interventions not culturally tailored to Indigenous families, P2W produced greater increases in parent-adolescent communication about general sexual health and sexual decision-making. Increases in sexual health communication were strongest for cross-gender dyads (mother and son or father and daughter), while increases in communication about sexual decision-making were strongest for adolescent sons (regardless of parent’s gender). (Journal of Research on Adolescence, November 2023)
Why this is important: This study demonstrates the efficacy of the P2W program for improving sexual health amongst American Indian adolescents, emphasizing the benefits of culturally informed interventions designed specifically for the communities they aim to serve.
Neighborhood poverty during childhood prospectively predicts adolescent functional brain network architecture
In this study, Cleanthis Michael and colleagues examined how exposure to neighborhood poverty in childhood might impact the organization of brain networks in adolescence in a group of 538 twins over the ages of 6 to 19 years. The authors assessed two main aspects of functional brain network organization: network segregation (the degree to which the brain organizes into distinct, functionally specialized networks) and the balance between network segregation and integration (efficiency of information flow between brain networks). Both network segregation and balance increased during adolescence; however, these age-related associations were influenced by exposure to neighborhood poverty in childhood. Children who experienced greater neighborhood disadvantage showed reduced network segregation in adolescence. These effects were observed across various functional networks, emphasizing that neighborhood conditions in childhood may have enduring effects on the organization and development of the adolescent brain. (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, December 2023)
Why this is important: This study suggests that exposure to neighborhood poverty in childhood can impact functional brain development in adolescence, highlighting the importance of policies and programs aimed at increasing available resources within neighborhoods to support positive development for young people.
Hooked on a thought: Associations between rumination and neural responses to social rejection in adolescent girls
In this study, Leehyun Yoon and colleagues investigated the association between self-reported rumination—persistent negative thought patterns—and neural responding to social rejection in a group of 116 adolescent girls. Participants completed a social evaluation task during which they received (fabricated) feedback in the form of acceptance or rejection from peers they liked or disliked. When rejected by peers they liked, girls with higher rumination levels showed more neural activity in areas of the default mode network, a key brain network for self-related processing. They also showed reduced connectivity between the default mode network and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), a region implicated in rumination. Higher rumination was linked to slower response times on the task following rejection, and this effect was explained by neural activity during rejection. (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, December 2023)
Why this is important: These findings link rumination to neural and behavioral response during social rejection, indicating the importance of developing more effective interventions to support the mental health of adolescent girls with high rumination levels.
Spring 2025 Research Roundup
Research Roundup | Community Engagement | Mental Health | Adversity, Bias, & Discrimination
In this Research Roundup, we provide an overview of recent research about adolescent development that highlights the role of family relationships, sleep, adverse childhood experiences, and neighborhood characteristics in brain development and mental health.
In this Research Roundup, we provide an overview of recent research about adolescent development that highlights the role of family relationships, sleep, adverse childhood experiences, and neighborhood characteristics in brain development and mental health.
Sign up to receive the quarterly research roundup in your inbox. You can suggest research articles for future roundups by emailing CDA@psych.ucla.edu.
Family relationships as protective factors
- Prosocial Behavior Toward Family Can Protect Against Mental Health Challenges in Adolescence (February 2025)
- Warm Parenting Relationships Throughout Adolescence Are Important for Emotional Regulation (January 2025)
The Importance of Sleep
- Sleep as a Protective Factor Against Substance Use for Youth Experiencing Discrimination (February 2025)
Environments and experiences
- Early Neglect or Abuse Changes the Way Adolescent Girls’ Brains Mature (November 2024)
- More Enriched Neighborhood Resources in Early Adolescence Can Support Mental Health (February 2025)
Family relationships as protective factors
Prosocial Behavior Toward Family Can Protect Against Mental Health Challenges in Adolescence
(Padilla-Walker et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, February 2025)
In this study, Laura Padilla-Walker and colleagues investigated the psychological benefits of prosocial behavior (voluntary behavior intended to help others) in a large sample of older adolescents. At the first time point (when participants were around 18 years old), participants rated their own prosocial behavior toward their family (“I really enjoy doing small favors for my family”), friends (“I voluntarily help my friends”), and strangers (“I help people I don’t know, even if it is not easy for me”). Approximately five years later (when participants were around 23 years old), the same participants completed surveys that assessed their self-esteem, depression, and suicide risk. They found that adolescents who reported greater prosocial behavior toward their family also demonstrated higher self-esteem five years later, which in turn predicted fewer depressive symptoms and lower suicide risk. These results highlight how prosocial behaviors, particularly toward family, can protect against mental health challenges, potentially by raising self-esteem during the transition from adolescence into adulthood.
Why this is important: This work underscores the importance of familial relationships, even as adolescents transition into adulthood. Opportunities to contribute to their families may benefit adolescents’ self-esteem and, in doing so, improve their overall mental health.
Warm Parenting Relationships Throughout Adolescence Are Important for Emotional Regulation
(Her et al., Developmental Psychobiology, January 2025)
In this study, Helena Her and colleagues examined how parenting relates to heart rate variability, an indicator of nervous system functioning that connects to our ability to regulate our emotional responses, in a sample of adolescents in the U.S. from Mexican families. The researchers focused on parental warmth, defined as loving, affectionate, supportive, and consistent parenting that is responsive to an adolescent’s needs. Adolescent participants reported on their parents’ warmth every two years from ages 10 to 16. When the participants were 17, researchers measured their heart rate variability, an index of activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which supports the ability to respond and adapt our emotions to the environment appropriately. The researchers found that, on average, youth reported that their parents’ warmth declined over time (between the ages of 10 and 16). However, young people who reported either increases or only slight decreases in their mothers’ warmth over time had higher heart rate variability at age 17, which may indicate an increased ability to respond to stress and regulate emotions. Together, these findings suggest that maintaining warm and supportive mother-adolescent relationships throughout adolescence may support youths’ abilities to regulate their emotions in positive ways.
Why this is important: This study suggests that maintaining affectionate, supportive, and consistent mother-adolescent relationships throughout adolescence may benefit nervous system functioning and emotional adjustment, even as youth may be becoming more independent and spending less time with their caregivers.
The Importance of Sleep
Sleep as a Protective Factor Against Substance Use for Youth Experiencing Discrimination
(Wang et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, February 2025)
Previous research has linked experiences of discrimination to heightened risk for substance use in adolescents. Drawing from prior work showcasing the psychological and social benefits of sleep, Yijie Wang and colleagues examined whether this risk might be lowered in adolescents who get more sleep. Using longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study*, they measured experiences of discrimination related to racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, and weight in early adolescents (average age around 11 years old) from racially and ethnically diverse youth (including Black, Latine, multiracial, Asian American, and Native American youth). They also collected survey data on typical sleep patterns, Fitbit sleep data over three weeks, and participant self-reports on their intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana in the future. Researchers found that more exposure to multiple forms of discrimination predicted higher intention of substance use, but only in adolescents who got less sleep on weekdays (less than 9 ½ hours when measured via self-report and less than 7 ½ hours when measured via Fitbit data). For adolescents who got more sleep on weekdays, discrimination did not significantly predict their intention to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana in the future. This suggests that sleep may curb the negative effects of discrimination and lower risk for substance use in adolescents.
Why this is important: This study suggests that interventions aimed at increasing sleep duration may protect against starting substance use in adolescents who experience discrimination. Importantly, this study showcases these associations in younger adolescents without a history of substance use, suggesting that prevention efforts could be effective earlier in adolescence, before substance use behaviors become prevalent.
Environments and experiences
Early Neglect or Abuse Changes the Way Adolescent Girls’ Brains Mature
(Garrisi et al., Child Maltreatment, November 2024)
In this study, Kathryn Garrisi and colleagues examined the effects of different forms of childhood adversity on brain development in a sample of 9- to 17-year-old adolescent girls. The researchers measured participants’ history of adversity, including experiences of neglect (lack of emotional and material care by parents) and sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. In adolescents without a history of childhood adversity, the surface area in the brain decreased as they got older, in line with prior studies of how the brain typically matures during adolescence. However, in adolescents who experienced childhood neglect or abuse, these decreases in surface area were smaller, specifically within the frontoparietal regions of the brain that are associated with executive functioning and cognitive control. In adolescents who had experienced abuse, the surface area in their brain increased as they got older—the opposite of the pattern observed in adolescents without a history of abuse—specifically within temporal and parietal regions involved in perception and sensory processing. These findings suggest that childhood neglect and abuse both affect brain development during adolescence, but that the specific effects may differ depending on the type of adversity experienced.
Why this is important: Although decreasing surface area in the brain is typically observed during adolescence, these findings suggest that childhood abuse and neglect both alter this developmental process, which may mean that these young people need additional support and access to resources as they navigate their path toward adulthood. Given the rapid brain development that occurs during this developmental stage, these findings point to adolescence as a window when interventions to support youth who have experienced adversity may have an amplified impact.
More Enriched Neighborhood Resources in Early Adolescence Can Support Mental Health
(Harris et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, February 2025)
In this study, Julia Harris and colleagues examined how neighborhood characteristics relate to mental health during adolescence. Using data from 9- to 10-year-olds from the ABCD study*, the researchers found that greater neighborhood enrichment, characterized by aspects that promote healthy development such as proximity to high-quality child education centers, access to green space, and walkability, was associated with less impulsive behavior. Additionally, greater neighborhood enrichment was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms, including sadness, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Neighborhood enrichment was also related to greater reward-seeking behaviors, or the pursuit of new or thrilling experiences, specifically those related to the pursuit of desired goals. Although these reward-seeking behaviors have previously been linked to greater maladaptive risk-taking, the researchers speculated that this pattern may indicate that enriched neighborhoods, which have more green spaces and community centers, offer more opportunities for high-energy and goal-oriented activities, such as playing outside and spending time with peers, rather than specifically risky behaviors. Together, these findings point to the role of the neighborhood environment in mental health during adolescence.
Why this is important: This research highlights the importance of the neighborhood environment in adolescent development by showcasing a relationship between more enriching neighborhood resources and mental health. The patterns observed in this study suggest that access to built environmental factors including high-quality child education centers, green space, and walkability may promote healthy development during adolescence.