The Adaptable Teenage Brain

Last quarter, I wrote an article “Teens--- as Responsible People” and placed it on our CPS website. It is based on The Good Teen, a book by Professor Richard Lerner, PhD (New York: Crown Publisher, 2007). 

Let’s continue this theme by exploring the National Geographic Magazine (October, 2011, pp. 36-59) which highlights a cover article “The New Science of the Teenage Brain”.  Author David Dobbs opines that teenage “brains… take much longer to develop than we originally thought.” A study at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “showed that our brains undergo a massive reorganization between our 12th and 25th years.”  We originally thought that the brain was fully developed by the end of elementary school, say by age 12.  What current research shows, however, is that the brain is continually developing throughout the teenage years. 

Dobbs contends: “When this development proceeds normally, we get better at balancing impulse, desire, goals, self-interest, rules, ethics, and even altruism, generating behavior that is more complex and, sometimes at least, more sensible.  But at times, and especially at first, the brain does this work clumsily.”

Beatriz Luna, a University of Pittsburgh professor of psychiatry found in her study that, when compared with adults, “teens tended to make less use of brain regions and monitor performance, spot errors, plan and stay focused.” But by age 20, teens were able to function similar to adults. Dobbs concludes that the teen brain is a ‘work in progress’ whose ‘immature brains’ lead some to question whether they are in a state ‘akin to mental retardation.’

It’s all in the matter of understanding teens with a good attitude.  If we treat teens as problems, they will be.  If we treat them as “active partners”, they will feel the support with resulting positive relationships.  In fact, Dobbs believes that the teen is an “exquisitely sensitive, highly adaptable creature wired almost perfectly for the job of moving from the safety of home into the complicated world outside.”  With this in mind, CPS has adopted a very supportive relationship with teens, one which encourages independent creative thought, imagination, freedom to explore, and resourcefulness. 

Do teens need structure, guidance, and consequences for less-than-desired behavior that can be destructive to themselves and to others?  You bet!  But at least, if we can do this in an environment of trust and respect, the result should be impressive.  After all, teens as leaders will have a solid influence on our future. We must be absolutely sure that we do not foster unwittingly negative behavior, but rather that we work with teens for positive and constructive development.  It’s not a simple process, takes patience and understanding, and requires a good amount of humor.