Research

The Challenge:

Young Adults are asked to carry increasing responsibility and make big decisions without the benefit of experience or the privilege of an “adult brain.”

The transition to college represents a key milestone: new college students frequently part with established friends, family, and support networks, and their emerging identities are challenged by new people, ideas, and environments. As they encounter new freedoms and new responsibilities, they also enter a decade of intense growth physically: critical brain development occurs between the ages of 18 and 28, particularly in areas relating to decision-making, impulse control, and managing rewards.  

It is a time of new friends and relationships, diverse pathways, and almost endless opportunities to build toward the future. However, even the most gifted and resilient young people can suffer declines in well-being and heightened levels of depression and anxiety during this tumultuous transition. Further, this same period is the mean age of onset for a host of psychiatric illnesses including depression, anxiety, substance use, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. We are now facing a mental health crisis among college students, heightened at elite schools where there is tremendous pressure to excel.  

But these trends need not be inevitable. Across scientific disciplines, researchers are making discoveries that are changing our understanding of emerging adulthood. Numerous disciplines are working to discover more about the brain, mind, and body at this critical stage. However, this research is all too often occurring in scholarly silos. To drive real discoveries and change, to drive policy and holistic thinking, a range of fields must intersect, cross-pollinate, and focus on critical questions, collectively.

The Goal:

This Institute harnesses the power of scientific research and cross-discipline collaboration to improve the experience of navigating college and the transition to adulthood for all individuals, ranging from the most resilient to those who are vulnerable or struggling.

By merging thinking across disciplines and integrating the key lessons from cutting edge research, our work informs and drives big picture perspectives and real-world changes.  

With its wide range of expertise and the support of the Institute, our community of scholars leads research efforts designed to answer a range of pressing questions centered on the psychology of the adolescent brain and emerging adulthood.

Offering a collaborative structure, the Institute brings together scientists working on a range of topics and outcomes related to adolescent well-being.

We are beginning to understand how proactive and tailored accommodations and interventions can help vulnerable young adults face challenges and develop resilience. With investments in research and applications guided by science, we can imagine a better experience through this formative life experience, for everyone.