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Summer 2023 Research Roundup

Summer 2023 Research Roundup

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.

In This Roundup

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

Research

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.

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Additional Resources

The Connecting Adolescent Brain

Fact Sheet

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.

Cultivating Purpose in Adolescence

Council Report | Education | Community Engagement | Mental Health | Out-of-School Time | Digital Tech | Adversity, Bias, & Discrimination

This council report from the National Scientific Council on Adolescence looks at the importance of purpose during adolescence and how we can support youth to cultivate their own sense of purpose.

Helping youth develop a sense of purpose–a forward-looking life aim that guides actions and decisions–can build resilience, support mental health, reduce negative risk taking, and provide a sense of direction and motivation.

But adolescents do not just find their purpose as if it were an object already assembled. Rather they cultivate their purpose through a process of discovering and actively exploring their unique interests, skills, and values with support from those around them.

A new report from the National Scientific Council on Adolescence (NSCA) reviews research about why a sense of purpose is so important during adolescence, and how adults, schools, and communities can help young people cultivate this internal resource.

To learn more, download the full report, Cultivating Purpose in Adolescence.

Report authors Anthony Burrow, Patrick Hill, and Leslie Leve are joined by NYS 4-H Civic Engagement Specialist Jamila Walida Simon to discuss purpose in adolescence in this online panel discussion moderated by NSCA Co-director Joanna Williams.

When Adolescents Contribute to Others it Supports their Well-Being and Their Communities

Fact sheet | Education | Community Engagement | Out-of-School Time

This fact sheet explains how opportunities to contribute to others can build our autonomy, agency, and identity and can support our sense of purpose during adolescence.

Adolescence is a time of remarkable opportunity and growth. In the years between ages 10 and 25, changes in our brains and social environments increase both our ability to contribute to others and the positive feelings we get from kind and helpful behaviors toward others.

When policies and programs support adolescents to find ways to contribute and cultivate their sense of purpose, it leads to healthier, more connected communities.

Adolescence is an important time for contributing to others. During the developmental period between childhood and adulthood, we forge our sense of who we are and how we want to contribute to the world. Throughout our adolescent years, our physical, cognitive, and emotional capabilities mature in ways that allow us to contribute to our friends, family, schools, and broader community in deeper, more meaningful ways than when we were younger.

Opportunities to not only contribute, but to reflect on the meaning of our contributions and to have our contributions recognized, build our autonomy, agency, and identity and can support our sense of purpose—the forward-looking feeling that our lives are directed and significant. All of these are important to positive development during adolescence, helping us navigate adversity and achieve goals throughout adulthood.

Research on adolescent development helps explain how opportunities to contribute to others support well-being.

Brain development during adolescence supports our ability and motivation to contribute to others. The network of areas in our brain that activates in social interactions matures rapidly during our adolescent years, deepening our understanding of the complex feelings, perspectives, and needs of other people. We become better able to determine who needs our help and what kind of help they might need. In addition, brain regions associated with our sensitivity to rewards become more reactive during and after puberty, increasing the positive feelings we get from novel experiences as well as kind and helpful behaviors, such as contributing to others. Connections between these regions also improve during adolescence.

Our social environments—including families and peers—can motivate us to contribute to others. Socially, we become more motivated to find a valued place and role among our peers. Contributing is one way to feel valued: studies have shown that students who are helpful, cooperative, and sharing tend to be more appreciated and liked than those who use fear or intimidation to gain status. Young people from families and communities where contributing is a particular value seem to feel more of a sense of reward when helping.,

The right support can help young people who have been marginalized. Being marginalized as a result of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion can also motivate adolescents toward a sense of purpose to help others in their families, schools, or communities through activism or civic engagement. Family engagement, adult role models, connections through religious or other community groups, and support to process our experiences can all help young people cultivate a positive sense of purpose.

Contributing to others provides adolescents the experiences they need to succeed as adults. Supporting friends and family builds the intimacy we need to form positive, long-lasting relationships in adulthood. Seeing that our actions can have a positive effect on the world can help us build a sense of autonomy, agency, and identity. Contributing to others also supports a sense of meaning and purpose, which are associated with greater emotional well-being, academic success, and resilience, all of which can be powerful assets as we navigate adversity and achieve goals throughout adulthood.

The opportunity to reflect on the experience of volunteering might be essential to ensuring positive developmental impacts from the activity. Reflecting on service we perform during our adolescent years—which can take place through journaling, art, essay writing, or group discussion—can help us consider the broader impacts of our contribution and attach meaning to the experience.

​​➢ Provide opportunities for young people to make meaningful contributions to their social groups and communities. Programs that support youth to contribute can have positive effects on their mental and physical health, support their academic success, and give them opportunities to explore ways they can be a force for good in our society, now and in the future.

➢ Policies and programs should address inequities in adolescents’ opportunities to make meaningful contributions in their everyday lives by ensuring that all young people have a range of options to contribute and to have their contributions recognized.

➢ Families are typically the first context where youth can contribute to others through common household chores such as cooking or taking care of siblings. Youth from many lower-income, ethnic-minority, and immigrant families play significant instrumental roles in their families, and the value of these contributions and the skills they require should be recognized by colleges and employers.

➢ While helping family is a type of contribution that can benefit youth, time-intensive caregiving can sometimes be a source of stress that negatively impacts mental health. Schools can support caregiving youth by offering flexibility in course schedules, awarding community service hours for their caregiving, and educating teachers and counselors about the experience of these youth. Learn more about how to support caregiving youth here.

➢ Involving middle and high school students in decision making around classroom and school policies like seating arrangements, learning activities, or grading practices has been shown to increase students’ motivation and connection to the school community.

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