UCLA CDA Co-Executive Director Andrew Fuligni and Policy and Practice Director Elise Brumbach explain how insights from developmental science could help schools promote attendance and engagement for middle and high school students.
Leveraging the Opportunity of Adolescence to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism
Leveraging the Opportunity of Adolescence to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism
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.
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.
A Developmental Path to Policy and Programs
Science Spotlight | Education | Mental Health | Foster Care | Adversity, Bias, & Discrimination | Juvenile Justice
This spotlight offers examples of policies and programs that take a research-informed, developmental approach to supporting adolescents.
Adolescence is a time of remarkable opportunity, both for young people, who are learning and growing rapidly during these years, and for our broader society as we choose how to support young people on their path to adulthood. By aligning policies and programs with insights from developmental science, policymakers and youth-serving organizations can find ways to more effectively meet the distinct needs of adolescents and support youth to become healthy, thriving adults who can contribute to their families, communities, and the wider world.
In the last several decades, research on adolescent development has dramatically increased our understanding of how young people ages 10 to 25 develop psychologically, emotionally, and physically. Scientists with research expertise in neuroscience, psychology, biological sciences, sociology, education, and public health, among other disciplines, have contributed to our understanding of the core developmental needs of young people. Researchers, often in partnership with young people themselves, have also investigated how these needs might be met in settings that shape adolescents’ lives, such as school, home, the workplace, faith-based communities, and out-of-school activities. As a result of this work, we know more today than ever before about the types of experiences and relationships young people require during adolescence to advance toward healthy adulthood.
Understanding the developmental science of adolescence can help generate new ways of thinking about the challenges and opportunities our youth face and ultimately advance science-inspired solutions, systems, and support.
We offer below a few examples of policies and programs that draw inspiration from a developmental approach toward adolescence. In addition, the appendix included in the PDF highlights external clearinghouses that collect and assess evidence on existing programs and practices relevant to adolescents, which may be useful as you consider how to identify and support the core developmental needs of adolescents in your policy or program.
Young adult courts
Research suggests that young people ages 18 to 25 who have committed moderate criminal offenses experience worse life outcomes and higher rates of recidivism when they are formally processed in the criminal justice system–that is, when they proceed through a standard series of court appearances and resultant sanctions, such as time in detention. This suggests a misalignment between the treatment of these young people in the adult criminal system and their developmental needs and capacities as adolescents.
One approach that several jurisdictions in the United States have implemented in response to the needs of older adolescents is to establish “young adult courts.” For example, in partnership with developmental scientists from the University of California, Irvine, the Orange County Superior Court in California launched a pilot Young Adult Court in 2018. Young men ages 18 to 25 who proceed through the Young Adult Court receive intensive case management, supervision from officials who have received training regarding adolescent development and behavior, and resources to “strengthen their health and wellness, life skills and employment, housing, and education.”
Upon completion of a minimum 18-month, court-supervised program, a judge may dismiss or reduce a young person’s felony charge. Structured as a randomized controlled trial, the Young Adult Court in Orange County will allow researchers at the University of California, Irvine to investigate the relationship between participation in this court and young people’s short- and long-term outcomes across several areas, including health, behavior, education, and career.
Later school start times
In 2019, California passed legislation requiring non-rural middle and high schools to begin the school day no earlier than 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., respectively. During the legislative process, the bill’s author noted that this shift aligns with research about the importance of sleep during adolescence. Indeed, studies have shown that later school start times make a difference for young people. In 2016, the Seattle School District shifted its school start times from 7:50 to 8:45 a.m., and a before-and-after study found that rather than simply staying up later, students slept an average of 30+ minutes more at night. Other research links later school start times to improved moods, better class attendance, and fewer car crashes among 17- and 18-year-old drivers.
Extended foster care eligibility
The earliest design of the child welfare system in the United States responded to the needs of physically abused infants and toddlers and prioritized protection and caregiver permanency for young children. As a system, it was not aligned with the unique developmental needs of adolescents, who can increasingly exert agency in their own lives as they practice reasoned decision-making and who may look to a variety of supportive adults and peers to help build resilience and a positive sense of identity.
One notable example of adapting this youth-serving system to better align with our understanding of adolescent development is the series of major federal policy reforms in the last 25 years that noted and aimed to address the needs of older adolescents with foster care experience and paved the way for state-level action. In general, these reforms have expanded the opportunities for young people beyond the age of 18 to receive services and establish or deepen connections with supportive adults.
Today, in approximately 48 states, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa, young people may elect to remain in extended foster care past the age of 18 and receive supportive resources. Although extended foster care services vary by jurisdiction, they might include a range of resources that align with the capacities and needs of older adolescents as they learn to navigate life choices related to healthcare, housing, education, and employment with appropriate support from caring adults.
Treatment Foster Care Oregon
The Treatment Foster Care Oregon program is a research-informed alternative to placing youth with severe emotional or behavioral disorders in residential group care settings. First developed in 1983, Treatment Foster Care Oregon today offers separate programs for (defined by TFCO as 7 to 11, which encompasses early adolescence) and adolescence (defined by TFCO as 12 to 17) that prioritize family settings and effective parenting over approximately nine months.
The program involves weekly meetings for foster parents that teach positive parenting strategies, crisis support and respite care for foster parents, one-to-one mentorship for youth with a young adult to promote social skill building, and family and individual therapy for caregivers and youth. The program’s design explicitly takes into account the unique developmental needs of middle childhood and adolescence. In fact, the program’s effectiveness seems to be related to the support it provides for some important developmental needs of the adolescent years, including by tapping into youths’ need to find a respected place among peers and to maintain secure relationships with supportive adults.
In randomized control trials, this program has been shown to cut in half the arrest rate of both boys and girls. In addition, girls in the Treatment Foster Care Program experienced half the rate of depressive symptoms, a third less drug use in their early to mid-20s, and about half as many teen pregnancies.
Strong African American Families Program
Strong African American Families (SAAF) is a family-centered program for rural, Black families designed to strengthen early adolescents’ relationships with their caregivers and prevent unhealthy risk taking. The University of Georgia’s Center for Family Research created the program expressly to apply key research insights about healthy adolescent development, including the importance of developing a positive sense of self and racial identity as well as maintaining relationships with supportive adults.
While participating in SAAF, youth ages 10 to 14 and their caregivers attend weekly program sessions over a seven-week period. Through interactive games, discussions, and role playing activities, youth work through topics such as setting goals, developing their sense of identity, understanding their values, and handling peer pressure. Parents complete separate sessions focused on developing communication skills and discussing ways to support their children’s development. Adolescents and their parents also attend joint sessions focused on working together, staying connected, and supporting youths’ goals.
The program reduced risky sexual behavior, substance use, and behavioral problems, and increased positive racial identity. In addition, a recent analysis suggests that SAAF participation may reduce negative mental health effects in adolescents caused by experiencing racial discrimination.
Partnering with young people to design California HOPE accounts
Young people have the ability to make well-reasoned decisions about their well-being when given the time and information to consider their options. Including young people in the design of policies and programs that impact their lives can benefit both adolescents and their communities.
The approach taken by the California HOPE for Children Trust Account Program (the “HOPE Program”) is one example of intentionally engaging young people in the earliest stages of policy development. In 2022, the California legislature created the HOPE Program to provide financial trust accounts for youth from low-income families who lost a parent or guardian due to COVID-19 and young people who have spent at least 18 months in the foster care system. The legislature required a Board to oversee the program, advised by a working group of subject matter experts. These groups recognized “that the HOPE program could not be designed without significant direction from a set of youth who were most likely to be beneficiaries of the program.”
As a result, the groups sought assistance to assemble a Youth Panel of Experts. These 12 young people ages 15 to 21 had experiences that mirrored the qualifying criteria for a HOPE account and were compensated for their participation in the HOPE Program’s design. The HOPE Program’s 2024 report to the state legislature outlines an implementation plan for the program and other critical administrative choices that reflect the contributions and collaboration of the Youth Panel of Experts. The report also outlines an ongoing role for the Youth Panel of Experts, who will provide insights into future public outreach and educational materials for young people eligible for the program and their families.