Adolescents are increasingly capable of making meaningful contributions to others. Contributing in substantive ways promotes the autonomy, identity, and relationship skills adolescents are developing. This article from Perspectives on Psychological Science looks at the neural and biological foundations of the need to contribute, and how social environments can provide opportunities for young people to help others.
STUDY: The Need to Contribute During Adolescence
STUDY: The Need to Contribute During Adolescence
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.
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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 issue of our quarterly Research Roundup, we provide an overview of some recent research showcasing the importance of support for positive identity development, the role of family and peers in mental health and emotion regulation, and the impacts of educational settings.
In this issue of our quarterly Research Roundup, we provide an overview of some recent research showcasing the importance of support for positive identity development, the role of family and peers in mental health and emotion regulation, and the impacts of educational settings.
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.
Identity Development
- The importance of social identities in adolescence as an opportunity to promote positive adjustment (September 2023)
- Effects of conflict at school and at home on the emotional health of gender nonconforming youth (June 2023)
Family and Peer Relationships
- Strong family cultural values can moderate environmental effects on adolescent mental health (September 2023)
- Parents and friends can both influence emotion regulation abilities in adolescents (September 2023)
Educational Settings
- Exclusionary discipline practices in schools can increase the risk of legal system contact and substance use in adulthood (October 2023)
- School engagement in adolescence predicts positive adult outcomes (March 2023)
Identity Development
The importance of social identities in adolescence as an opportunity to promote positive adjustment
Adolescence is a key period for exploring and developing our sense of who we are. This includes our social identity, such as our ethnic-racial or sexual identity. In this paper, Adam Hoffman and Adriana Umaña-Taylor argue that the importance of social identity during adolescence can be an opportunity to promote positive adjustment—especially for youth with marginalized social identities. The authors highlight two specific interventions that effectively targeted social identity development and improved adolescent adjustment: the Identity project and the PRIDE project.
The Identity project was a weekly, school-based intervention in which mid-adolescent (about 15 years old) youth explored their ethnic-racial identity, with the opportunity to teach each other, reflect, and discuss. The program increased exploration of and clarity in the students’ ethnic-racial identity, which was in turn associated with higher levels of self-esteem, better academic outcomes, and lower symptoms of depression a year later. The PRIDE project was a short intervention aimed at affirming marginalized social identities amongst 9th graders, a transition year for many youth when self-esteem often begins to decline. The intervention–three sessions throughout the year for youth to write about one of their social identities, what they liked about it, and why–buffered against this developmental decline in self-esteem. By the end of the year, youth in the program showed higher self-esteem than their peers once the program was completed. (Child Development Perspectives, September 2023)
Why this is important: This paper draws upon successful real-world interventions to highlight the value of programs that support social identity exploration and affirmation in adolescence, especially for youth with marginalized social identities.
Effects of conflict at home and at school on the emotional health of gender nonconforming youth
Gender nonconformity—gender expression that differs from stereotypes based on sex assigned at birth—has been associated with elevated risk of emotional and behavioral health problems in youth due to higher rates of peer victimization and rejection by parents and peers. In a sample of 10,000+ 10- and 11-year-olds, Hannah Loso and colleagues examined how family conflict and perceptions of the school environment (that is, how safe and/or supported an individual feels at their school) might contribute to the association between gender nonconformity and emotional and behavioral health problems in youth. Youth with gender nonconforming presentations reported higher levels of conflict amongst family members, as well as poorer perceptions of their school environments; even further, family conflict and negative perceptions of the school environment partially explained the associations between gender nonconformity and mental and behavioral health problems amongst these youth. (Journal of Adolescent Health, June 2023)
Why this is important: This study demonstrates how gender nonconforming youth often face family and school conflict at a detriment to their mental and behavioral health, highlighting the potential value of school and family-based interventions such as anti-discrimination policies for schools or education and resources for parents to support their gender nonconforming children.
Family and Peer Relationships
Strong family cultural values can moderate environmental effects on adolescent mental health
Family cultural values—such as those that emphasize family support, attachment, loyalty, respect, and obligation—can shape the home environment and influence emotional development. In this study, Gianna Rea-Sandin and colleagues examined whether family cultural values impact mental health and behavior in adolescence. In 10,000+ children and adolescents and their parents, greater parent- and youth-reported family cultural values at age 11 to 12 predicted fewer internalizing symptoms (such as anxiety and depression) and externalizing symptoms (such as rule-breaking behavior or aggression) at ages 12 to 13. In a subset of the sample that included 1,042 twin pairs, the authors found that shared and unshared environmental influences, but not genetic factors, accounted for the variance in internalizing symptoms over adolescence. Interestingly, higher levels of family cultural values decreased the role of unshared environment influences on internalizing symptoms amongst the twins, indicating the important role that supportive family environments can play in shaping healthy emotional development in adolescence. (Behavior Genetics, September 2023)
Why this is important: This study demonstrates that family cultural values such as respect and loyalty towards family can be a protective factor for mental health problems such as anxiety and depression in adolescence.
Parents and friends can influence emotion regulation abilities in adolescents
During adolescence, we are especially sensitive to our social environment. Feedback from those around us shapes how we process and regulate our emotions. Although friends become increasingly important in adolescence, parents are still key to emotional development during this time. In this study, Juan Wang and colleagues explored how feedback from friends, mothers, and fathers can facilitate or impede emotion regulation abilities in a group of 438 young adolescents (around 11 to 12 years old).
More supportive responses from friends were associated with better emotion regulation abilities a year later for both boys and girls, while parents’ responses showed uniquely strong effects in girls. Mothers’ supportive responses (such as asking why the child is unhappy or assuring them they don’t have to worry) explained additional emotion regulation abilities beyond friends’ responses, and fathers’ unsupportive responses (such as ignoring the child’s unhappiness or punishing the child) moderated the predictive power of friends’ responses on emotion regulation abilities a year later. This suggests that both parents and peers are important for regulating emotions in adolescence; further, parental support may enhance or decrease the positive effects of peer support, suggesting that even if adolescents rely on peers over parents for emotion regulation, parents can shape the influence of peer support on their child’s emotional development. (Journal of Youth and Adolescence, September 2023)
Why this is important: This study demonstrates that social relationships with both parents and peers are important for emotion processing and regulation in adolescence and underscores the value of both forms of social support for adolescent emotional development.
Educational Settings
Exclusionary discipline practices in schools can increase the risk of legal system contact and substance use in adulthood
Exclusionary school discipline (suspension and expulsion) can break down social bonds, decrease school connectedness, and disrupt academic progress, which can increase the risk of problematic substance use and exposure to the criminal legal system. In this study, Seth Prins and colleagues examined associations between substance use and exclusionary school discipline in a group of 20,000+ high school students who were interviewed in the 1990s and early 2000s, when exclusionary discipline practices and school-based arrests increased sharply in the United States. The authors also tested how adolescent substance use and exclusionary school discipline predicted likelihood of being arrested in adulthood (ages 24 to 32 years old).
Students who reported substance use were more likely to experience school discipline over the following years, and students who reported exclusionary school discipline were more likely to report substance use in the following years. Youth who reported substance use and exclusionary school discipline in adolescence were also more likely to use substances and to be arrested as adults. (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, October 2023)
Why this is important: This study demonstrates that exclusionary school discipline practices can contribute to substance use and future entrance into the criminal legal system, highlighting schools as crucial contexts for investment in interventions to support healthy outcomes instead of exclusionary punishments.
School engagement in adolescence predicts positive adult outcomes
In this study, Jennifer Symonds and colleagues used data from 13,135 individuals studied over 40 years of life to investigate how school engagement in adolescence relates to educational and employment outcomes in adulthood. Students were interviewed at age 16 regarding their level of school engagement—measured by how much they enjoyed school, felt school was a good use of time, and were willing to help and participate at school. Over a decade later, at ages 34 and 46, these same individuals were interviewed regarding their employment outcomes. Higher levels of school engagement at age 16 predicted higher educational achievement and income levels in adulthood, even when controlling for relevant demographics such as childhood socioeconomic status and cognitive ability. (Developmental Psychology, March 2023)
Why this is important: This study shows that engagement in school and school activities in adolescence can have a persistent, positive impact on adult outcomes, highlighting the importance of fostering engagement in schools for healthy adolescent development.