One of the major goals for research on adolescent development is to identify the optimal conditions for adolescents to grow up in a complex social world and to understand individual differences in... Show moreOne of the major goals for research on adolescent development is to identify the optimal conditions for adolescents to grow up in a complex social world and to understand individual differences in these trajectories. Based on influential theoretical and empirical work in this field, achieving this goal requires a detailed understanding of the social context in which neural and behavioral development takes place, along with longitudinal measurements at multiple levels (e.g., genetic, hormonal, neural, behavioral). In this perspectives paper, we highlight the promising role of team science in achieving this goal. To illustrate our point, we describe meso (peer relations) and micro (social learning) approaches to understand social development in adolescence as crucial aspects of adolescent mental health. Finally, we provide an overview of how our team has extended our collaborations beyond scientific partners to multiple societal partners for the purpose of informing and including policy makers, education and health professionals, as well as adolescents themselves when conducting and communicating research. Show less
Giving is essential for forming and maintaining social relationships, which is an important developmental task for adolescents. This pre-registered fMRI study investigated behavioral and neural... Show moreGiving is essential for forming and maintaining social relationships, which is an important developmental task for adolescents. This pre-registered fMRI study investigated behavioral and neural correlates of adolescents’ (N = 128, ages 9 – 19 years) small versus large size giving in different social contexts related to target (i.e., giving to a friend or unfamiliar peer) and peer presence (i.e., anonymous versus audience giving). Participants gave more in the small size than large size condition, more to friends than to unfamiliar peers, and more in the audience compared to anonymous condition. Giving very small or large amounts was associated with increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior insula (AI), and older adolescents showed increased lateral and anterior PFC activation for small size giving. We observed activity in the intraparietal cortex (IPL), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and AI for giving to friends, but no age-related differences in this activity. Behaviorally, in contrast, we observed that older adolescents differentiated more in giving between friends and unfamiliar peers. Finally, we observed interactions between peer presence and target in the AI, and between giving magnitude and target in the precuneus. Together, findings reveal higher context-dependency of giving and more lateral PFC activity for small versus large giving in older adolescents. Show less
Adolescents are sensitive to peer rejection but this may be dependent on their status. This study examined the role of ranking status on rejection sensitivity in adolescence using an experimental... Show moreAdolescents are sensitive to peer rejection but this may be dependent on their status. This study examined the role of ranking status on rejection sensitivity in adolescence using an experimental bargaining design. To manipulate ranking status, participants between ages 9-22-years (final sample n = 102) performed a reaction time task with two peers to induce high and low status. Next, participants played an iterative Ultimatum Game as high or low status proposer with an opposite status responder. Rejection of fair offers was associated with larger Medial Frontal Negativity (MFN) compared to acceptance of fair offers. An interaction between age and status group revealed that after rejection of fair offers, mid-adolescents showed a larger MFN when having a low status and smaller MFN when having a high status, relative to children and adults. These findings suggest that the MFN reacts as a neural alarm system to social prediction errors, signaling a need for vigilance to deviations from the norm, which is influenced by ranking status especially during mid-adolescence. Show less
