Blog

April 22, 2026

The transition to adulthood has always involved uncertainty, as adolescents continue to form and refine their goals for who they want to become, how they want to contribute, and which pathways they’ll take to get there. New and advancing technologies are amplifying this uncertainty, shifting the economic landscape in rapid and unpredictable ways, and leaving young people unsure about how to prepare for their future. So, how do we help youth build the skills they need for meaningful careers and…

April 20, 2026

In this fireside chat, our co-executive director, Adriana Galván, talks with the President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Lisa Lawson, about the ‘bridge’ that young people walk across in their transition to adulthood and how we can strengthen that bridge by providing support, scaffolding, and guidance.

February 27, 2026

In this blog post, we explore the importance of loving and supportive relationships with adults during adolescence, and discuss the significance and characteristics of natural mentors and developmental relationships.

December 17, 2025

Over the past year, the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent has been busy advancing our goal to support adolescents by amplifying developmental science. We refreshed and refined our mission, strengthened our community, launched a new multi-year initiative to support economic development, supported developmental science-informed policies and programs, and amplified the remarkable opportunities of adolescence. In this blog post, we share highlights, resources, and developments from 2025.

November 21, 2025

Investing in programs and policies that provide adolescents with reliable access to quality food has been proven to support positive outcomes. In this blog post, we explain how food insecurity impacts young people and highlight recent changes to benefits and data collection that could impact consistent access to nutrition.