Our Co-Executive Director Andrew Fuligni and FrameWorks Institute CEO Nat Kendall-Taylor explain why the crisis story of youth mental health may be backfiring. “Ultimately, we need stories about what facilitates mental health and wellbeing, not just what threatens it,” they write.
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.
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.
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.
Science Spotlight | Education | Community Engagement | Mental Health | Digital Tech
This spotlight provides research-based recommendations for ensuring that digital technology used by early adolescents promotes healthy development while keeping young people safe online.
The science of early adolescence—roughly ages 10 to 13—tells us this is a key time of exploration, discovery, rapid learning, and social and emotional change. As youth transition from childhood into the early stages of puberty, they develop their identities, learn about interpersonal relationships, and navigate novel and complex social contexts. What does this mean for adolescents growing up in the digital age?
Over the past 20 years, developmental scientists have begun to understand how young people are using digital technologies and the impact that doing so has on them. While we still have much to learn as young people’s use of digital platforms evolves, digital technologies change, and new online spaces are introduced, current research tells us that digital technology has both benefits and risks for young people, and during early adolescence, its effects can be amplified. We also know from research on brain and social development and on the impacts of technology during these years that we must craft standards and regulations for digital tech used by adolescents that can support and protect our young people. Specifically, we must craft policies and programs that:
Developmental scientists have identified many core aspects of positive development that occur in adolescence and during the transition into adolescence, including exploration and risk-taking, decision-making and emotional regulation, and a heightened focus on respect and social status. In today’s world, early adolescents are increasingly approaching these developmental milestones in online spaces and benefiting from the new opportunities afforded by these spaces. The design, regulation, and use of digital technology should be focused on promoting the positive development of these core developmental milestones.
During the transition to adolescence, young people experience an acceleration of pubertal and sexual changes, rapid brain development, changes in self image, intensification of peer relationships, and more diversity in the sources of information and social interaction that they seek out. Young adolescents are going through an immense period of learning, independently reasoning through complex social situations, exploring new social interactions, and testing adult limits. Questions of identity also become central as youth think about who they are and their place in the world. This development of identity subsequently influences attitudes, motivations, and behaviors.
Early adolescence in particular is a time of profound change when these key milestones of development are happening simultaneously. As they go through these changes, young adolescents are especially sensitive to external social and emotional influences, and compared to older adolescents, they are not as able to regulate their responses to these influences. The sheer degree of change during this time means that both healthy and potentially harmful influences abound, and supports that promote positive development and limit harm are especially important.
➢ Options to avoid sleep disruptions, time limits on particular applications (perhaps depending on the educational or wellness value of the app), and tools to limit or discourage use at times when digital technology might interfere with other activities (such as during school or after bedtime) should be built into platforms and applications.
➢ Default settings could also include auto-shutoff features that further promote health, safety, and well-being (such as shut off features on non-academic platforms during class time). These protections should all be automatic unless youth and their parents elect to change their default settings.
Currently, the digital technologies that are heavily used by young adolescents are not required to submit to any standardized regulations or oversight. So as young users explore, discover, take risks, and connect with peers in positive ways online, they must also contend with limited control or assurances related to their own safety and privacy. Youth development experts have identified specific types of data sharing that promote youth safety and positive development.
While the threshold for risk is lower for some adolescents, for example, those with existing mental health problems, those who are more sensitive to social appraisal and rejection, and those who may be already struggling with body image issues may experience more harm from digital technology.
The research also shows discrepancies in the online platforms that adults are familiar with and concerned about versus the ones that young people are actually using the most. Most digital technology platforms designed for adults are, at a minimum, lacking features that promote positive youth development. In many cases, they are inappropriate for youth consumption given current standards (or lack thereof) for consent, privacy, and targeted advertising. Experts in developmental science (researchers), experts that serve youth (including teachers, school counselors, and therapists), and experts in youth digital product design can provide critical insight into the creation of youth-centered digital programs and platforms.
➢ Default settings should protect the privacy of young users. Default profiles could be set to private and not allow sharing of any data collected from non-adult users.
➢ Targeted advertising should be limited for users below a certain age.
➢ Digital technology features that pose known risks for long-term consequences (including public sharing and storing of private data) should be highly regulated for early adolescent users.
The body of evidence related to early adolescent use of digital technology is continuing to grow and as additional evidence becomes available, researchers and digital technology companies should make educated decisions that reflect the evolution of the science.
Some companies have already taken positive steps to protect young users and make evidence-based resources for well-being more accessible. For example, YouTube has initiated an algorithm that applies an age rating to all content as well as supervised accounts for younger users. Similarly, Snapchat now provides suicide prevention information as part of their website support and provides a 24-hour crisis line and in-app, expert-based support when users search for mental health topics (such as those related to depression, anxiety, grieving, bullying, and body image).
➢ Digital technology companies should partner with researchers to evaluate and refine these efforts to support youth well-being.
All young adolescents should have reliable access to the level of digital connectivity and devices required to fully participate in their education and learning. Accessibility of devices, data plans, internet, and guidance about how to use digital technology differs for youth from different demographic groups.
For example, early adolescents who are economically disadvantaged may have less access to fee-based platforms and other technologies. In addition, some young adolescents with visual or hearing impairment may benefit from inclusionary measures like image and video captioning that are not typically built into the platforms they use.
➢ Policymakers and digital technology companies should ensure that all young people can benefit from positive opportunities available in age-appropriate online spaces.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (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.
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.
