Adolescent Brain Development

1. Adolescent Brain Development Your Trainer: Chuck Marquardt Presented by the California Family Health Council, Inc.

2. Program Objectives • At the conclusion of this workshop participants will be able to: • Discuss current research on adolescent brain development • Describe practical applications of knowledge about adolescent brain and psychosocial development. • Demonstrate education and counseling techniques that apply the theory of adolescent development to real life scenarios.

3. Adolescent Development

4. First Always remember Feelings Results Behavior Thought Cycle Thoughts

5. Adolescent Psychosocial Development • Internal Influences • Adolescent Cognitive Development • External Influences • Adolescent Social Development

6. Internal Influences on Teen Relationships Adolescent Cognitive Development READ www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994126,00.html

7. Adolescent Cognitive Development • Recent News about Brain Development • Different areas of the brain mature at different rates • Area controlling executive functions is the last part of the adolescent brain to mature

8. Adolescent Cognitive Development • Prefrontal cortex regulates: • planning • setting priorities • organizing thoughts • suppressing impulses • weighing consequences of one’s actions

9. Adolescent Cognitive Development • Concrete vs. Abstract Thinking • How will knowing this affect how you work and talk with teens?

10. Adolescent Cognitive Development • Hormones • Increased hormones during puberty contribute to excitability in teens by affecting the brain’s emotional center • Hormones also activate the ability for intense feelings in teens • How will knowing this affect how you work and talk with teens?

11. Adolescent Cognitive Development • The hormone-brain relationship contributes to increased risk-taking at a time when the center of the brain that puts on the brakes is still under construction. • How will knowing this affect how you work and talk with teens?

12. External Influences on Teens Adolescent Social Development

13. Adolescent Social Development • Key social developmental task • establishment of own identity • to separate from the family Put that together with what we just learned about cognitive development

14. Drive Towards Autonomy and Self-identity The Need to Separate from Family Immature Brain Development Increased Risk Taking Teens sometimes struggling

15. Adolescent Social Development • Teens are influenced by: • Family • Peers • School • Community norms • Cultural norms • Teens are influenced by personal experiences

16. Relationship Tasks • To navigate their world, teens need to develop: • biologically (brain) • emotionally (maturity) or • socially (self-identity vs. peer pressure)

17. Relationship Tasks • Biologic Maturity • Movement from concrete thinking to abstract thinking affects teens’ ability to evaluate how today’s actions will affect tomorrow.

18. Relationship Tasks • Emotional maturity: • The ability to navigate power and control dynamics within a relationship.

19. Relationship Tasks • Social Maturity • The process of adolescent individuation (separating themselves from parents and family) is a normal developmental task. • If this process is rebellious it can contribute to some teens making unhealthy choices about who they associate with.

20. Learning Point #1Brain development research is reinforcing what program evaluation is already telling us.

21. The Good News:We Know What Can Help –Youth Development!

22. Resiliency • Definition • The capacity for healthy development and successful learning in spite of challenges. • 15 year old Shawn’s definition: “Resiliency is about bouncing back from problems and stuff with power and more smarts.”

23. Core Messages of Resilience Research Core Message #1 Resilience is a capacity all youth have for healthy development and successful learning.

24. Core Messages of Resilience Research Core Message #2 Certain personal strengths are associated with healthy development and successful learning.

25. Core Messages of Resilience Research Personal Strengths • Social Competence: relationship skills • Autonomy: sense of self/identity • Problem-Solving Skills • Sense of Purpose and Future

26. Core Messages of Resilience Research Core Message #3 Certain characteristics of families, schools, and communities are associated with the development of personal strengths and, in turn, healthy development and successful learning.

27. Core Messages of Resilience Research Environmental Protective Factors • Caring Relationships • High Expectations • Opportunities for Participation

28. Core Messages of Resilience Research Core Message #4 Changing the life trajectories of children and youth from risk to resilience starts with changing the beliefs of the adults in their families, schools, and communities.

29. Core Messages of Resilience Research Communicate to Youth their Ability to: • Succeed in life • To be happy • To be proud of themselves

30. Developmental Assets • 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents • Source: www.search-institute.org • The more assets, the better • Youth Development: strengthening and developing more assets

31. Resiliency, Youth Development and You • Adults are an essential part of teen’s environmental protective factors • Resilience strengths (assets) are critical survival skills • Success is seen with Developmental vs. Behavioral program

32. Resiliency, Youth Development and You • Teens express characteristics or skills that they have had a chance to develop • LESSON: Help them develop skills • How does Brain Development research impact this? • Draw on ability to think, even if in concrete terms. • EXAMPLE - Theo • Use emotional thinking to your advantage.

33. Resiliency, Youth Development and You • The characteristic must be valued and modeled within teen’s community • LESSON: Role model the characteristics you want them to develop • How does Brain Development research impact this? • Draw on ability to think, even if in concrete terms. • EXAMPLE – Answering questions about sex – ASK BACK • Use emotional thinking to your advantage.

34. Resiliency, Youth Development and You • Create a climate where the characteristics that you would like to see developed are the norm, even if only at your site. • LESSON: Treat teens and adults with respect and require the same in return • Draw on ability to think, even if in concrete terms. • Use emotional thinking to your advantage.

35. Resiliency, Youth Development and You • LESSON: To build problem solving skills you have to give teens the chance to make real decisions about the things thatthey care about. • What do many teens care most about? • Their relationships • Other?

36. Resilience Research: In Conclusion 70% of at-risk teens grow into thriving adults

37. ACTIVITY Thinking it Through

38. Thinking it Through ACTIVITY • Get into groups of 2 • Chuck will assign the roles of Adult and Youth • The Youth in this role play is a 14 year old girl who wants to be pregnant. • The adult will take the 14 year old through the thought process WITHOUT thinking for them. • Report Back!

39. ACTIVITY Answering Questions about Sex

40. Thinking it Through ACTIVITY • Get into groups of 2 • Everyone gets a question care • Choose who will be the adult and youth • Youth, tell the adult what your age is • Youth, ask your adult your question • Adult, do your best to answer it. Keep in mind: • Demonstrate skills and characteristics you want to role model • Ask back – learn what the youth already knows. Value their knowledge. • Provide answers in terms that match the youth’s development – concrete or abstract as well as social development.

41. ThankYou! Please complete your Evaluation