Cognitive control development in adolescence

Adolescence is a transitional period in which an increasing ability to coordinate basic cognitive control abilities is also particularly challenged by contextual factors in the environment. The aim of this dissertation was to examine the development of complex cognitive control in adolescence in relation to different socio-affective contexts at the behavioural and neural level. The dissertation presents three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments. The first studies explored transient and sustained aspects of cognitive control, and how the context influences behaviour and brain activation during cognitive control tasks. Study 1 used a prospective memory task where the cues were more or less salient, affecting the need to proactively monitor the stimuli vs. react to more distinctive cues. Study 2 used a working memory task and manipulated the reward context, on a trial-by-trial or run-by-run basis. Study 3 used a relational reasoning task to investigate manipulation and integration of information and its sensitivity to the nature of this information, in particular whether making judgements in the social domain elicited specific brain activations compared to the non-social domain. All three studies were run in adolescent and adult participants, to allow the study of developmental changes in complex cognitive control at the behavioural and brain level. Study 1 found behavioural evidence for development of prospective memory in adolescence and neuroimaging evidence for sustained and transient activation of the frontoparietal network associated with monitoring costs for cue detection whilst being engaged in a different task. Study 2 found that in the context of sporadic rewards, both adolescents and adults combine a proactive and a reactive strategy to maximise performance. Reward had both sustained and transient effects on frontoparietal regions as well as subcortical regions involved in reward processing. Study 3 showed parallel recruitment of the social brain and the relational reasoning network during the relational integration of social information in adolescence and adulthood. Across the three studies, there was evidence for behavioural improvement with age, but no strong differences of haemodynamic brain changes between adolescence and adulthood

Social media and adolescent well-being in the Global South

Despite the rapid proliferation of digital technologies in the Global South, most academic research on social media and adolescent well-being has primarily focused on the Global North. This review investigates how social media impacts adolescent well-being in the Global South. We first review five regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Latin America, China and South & South-East Asia) to highlight the complex ways social media interacts with well-being around the world. We then outline research gaps in the current understanding of the impacts of social media use on adolescent populations in diverse cultural contexts. We finally highlight potential lines of inquiry that future researchers could explore to build a nuanced, contextual perspective of the risks and opportunities of social media use

A Researcher’s Guide to the Measurement and Modeling of Puberty in the ABCD Study® at Baseline

9 pagesThe Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD) Study is an ongoing, diverse, longitudinal, and multi-site study of 11,880 adolescents in the United States. The ABCD Study provides open access to data about pubertal development at a large scale, and this article is a researcher’s guide that both describes its pubertal variables and outlines recommendations for use. These considerations are contextualized with reference to cross-sectional empirical analyses of pubertal measures within the baseline ABCD dataset by Herting, Uban, and colleagues (2021). We discuss strategies to capitalize on strengths, mitigate weaknesses, and appropriately interpret study limitations for researchers using pubertal variables within the ABCD dataset, with the aim of building toward a robust science of adolescent development.This project was conceptualized at the ABCD Workshop 2019, which was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R25MH120869. Author TC was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number TL1TR002371. Author CL was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number MH099007. Author MLB was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01MH111951. Author MH was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under Award Number: K01 MH10876. Author SW was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council under award number 1125504. Author KU was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under Award Number: K01 AA026889. Author JP was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under award number MH174108. To prepare this article, we examine and present details about measures administered in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (https://abcdstudy.org), held in the NIMH Data Archive (NDA). This is a multi-site, longitudinal study designed to recruit more than 10,000 children ages 9–10 and follow them over 10 years into early adulthood. The ABCD Study is supported by the National Institutes of Health and additional federal partners under award numbers U01DA041048, U01DA050989, U01DA051016, U01DA041022, U01DA051018, U01DA051037, U01DA050987, U01DA041174, U01DA041106, U01DA041117, U01DA041028, U01DA041134, U01DA050988, U01DA051039, U01DA041156, U01DA041025, U01DA041120, U01DA051038, U01DA041148, U01DA041093, U01DA041089. A full list of supporters is available at https://abcdstudy.org/federal-partners.html. A listing of participating sites and a complete listing of the study investigators can be found at https://abcdstudy.org/scientists/workgroups/. ABCD consortium investigators designed and implemented the study and/or provided data but did not necessarily participate in analysis or writing of this report. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or ABCD consortium investigators. Author TC was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number TL1TR002371 and by the National Institute of Mental Health under award number 1F31MH124353

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs.

The rapidly expanding universe of information, media, and learning experiences available through digital technology is creating unique opportunities and vulnerabilities for children and adolescents. These issues are particularly salient during the developmental window at the transition from childhood into adolescence. This period of early adolescence is a time of formative social and emotional learning experiences that can shape identity development in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Increasingly, many of these foundational learning experiences are occurring in on-line digital environments. These expanding vulnerabilities and opportunities are being further amplified for young adolescents growing up in low resourced settings around the world. Cultural and contextual factors influence access, use, and appropriation of digital technology. Further, neurobehavioral changes associated with the onset of puberty often coincide with entry into social media and more autonomous use of technology. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), disparities in access, use, and appropriation of digital media can amplify prevailing economic gaps, and compound gender inequalities during early adolescence. In LMICs, adolescents are often the early adopters of mobile technology and social media platforms. While the impact of social media on the well-being, particularly mental health, of young adolescents has been a focus of research in high-income countries (HICs), much less is known about the impacts of social media use on young adolescents in LMICs. In this paper, we review what is known about the interaction between digital media and early adolescent development. We highlight crucial gaps in the evidence in LMICs; and describe some hypotheses and areas for future research to address these compelling issues

Prospective, directional associations between Social Media Intensity, Loneliness, and Anxiety among Peruvian Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The impact of social media on adolescent mental health is an area of intense interest and controversy, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased youth’s reliance on online communications. Current evidence, mostly from cross-sectional studies in the Global North, is mixed. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social media and mental health in adolescents in Perú across 15 months of COVID-19 lockdowns. In this observational study, we first examined associations between social media intensity (SMI), feelings of loneliness, and anxiety at the beginning of the pandemic (May 2020) in 1603 early adolescents (10 – 14 years). Hypotheses of a positive association between all outcomes, particularly for girls, were derived from exploring one half of the sample (n =807), preregistered, and then confirmed in the second half of the sample (n = 806). In May 2020, SMI was associated with more frequent loneliness for girls, and SMI was associated with more frequent anxiety for both sexes. In a longitudinal follow up (n = 455) we then investigated prospective and directional associations across three waves (May 2020, November 2020, and July 2021). Longitudinal analyses revealed a more complex pattern. Across 15 months of COVID-19 in Perú, feelings of loneliness in girls were associated with an increase in SMI. In contrast, higher SMI among girls was associated with an increase in feelings of anxiety. We did not find the reverse relationships. Our findings with early adolescents in low-and middle-income urban settings in Latin America, an underrepresented population, underscore the importance of longitudinal research and contribute to understanding these important issues globally

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs.

The rapidly expanding universe of information, media, and learning experiences available through digital technology is creating unique opportunities and vulnerabilities for children and adolescents. These issues are particularly salient during the developmental window at the transition from childhood into adolescence. This period of early adolescence is a time of formative social and emotional learning experiences that can shape identity development in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Increasingly, many of these foundational learning experiences are occurring in on-line digital environments. These expanding vulnerabilities and opportunities are being further amplified for young adolescents growing up in low resourced settings around the world. Cultural and contextual factors influence access, use, and appropriation of digital technology. Further, neurobehavioral changes associated with the onset of puberty often coincide with entry into social media and more autonomous use of technology. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), disparities in access, use, and appropriation of digital media can amplify prevailing economic gaps, and compound gender inequalities during early adolescence. In LMICs, adolescents are often the early adopters of mobile technology and social media platforms. While the impact of social media on the well-being, particularly mental health, of young adolescents has been a focus of research in high-income countries (HICs), much less is known about the impacts of social media use on young adolescents in LMICs. In this paper, we review what is known about the interaction between digital media and early adolescent development. We highlight crucial gaps in the evidence in LMICs; and describe some hypotheses and areas for future research to address these compelling issues

Offline–but not online–autonomy and competence are associated with lower internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents in Perú

Adolescent developmental tasks, including autonomy and competence, have been disrupted by COVID-19-related lockdowns around the world. In this observational study, we investigate how a sense of subjective autonomy and competence, both online and offline, relate to anxiety and depression during COVID-19 among 2,390 low and middle-income adolescents (11-17 years) in Perú. As we hypothesize, our data indicated that higher offline–and not online–autonomy and competence were robustly associated with lower internalizing symptoms. While the online sphere might offer opportunities for adolescents to fulfill developmental tasks, we found that virtual experiences—even those that facilitate a sense of autonomy and competence—are insufficient means to cope with the negative effects of physical restrictions in the context of a global pandemic