Since the 1950’s to present day, some of the main trends and consistent changes in family structure over the decades we’ve seen include: the delay in forming marriages, increase in cohabitation, growth in single parenting, a dramatic increase in women’s labor force participation, and delayed and declining fertility. But how do these profound changes actually …
The Effects of Social Media Use on Adolescent Development: Do the Pro’s Outweigh the Con’s?
What are the pro’s and con’s of social media use on adolescent’s development today? Since it is a relatively recent phenomenon, it is an understudied topic. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have the potential to reshape the lives and experiences of contemporary adolescence in a variety of ways. Let’s explore some of these impacts …
Our Current Education System: What Works and What Doesn’t?
Although most secondary schools don’t prioritize this, one of the most important functions of schools beyond promoting learning is to facilitate adolescent development. In taking a closer look at the nature of our education system in the United States, research and data on this topic has revealed what truly has been working and what hasn’t …
Parenting 101: How to Handle Your Teenager’s Increasing Demands for Independence
This is an example letter I have prepared on the topic of parent-child relationships during adolescents in response to the following inquiry: Dear Expert, My spouse and I cannot agree on how to handle our teenager’s increasing demands for independence. My spouse says we should keep our teen on a “tight rein,” but I think …