Third-grade impulses linked to lower academic achievement and education into adulthood

Children who showed larger spikes in activity by the end of the school day were found to have lower math and reading scores in school and fewer years of education as adults

Can your behavior in third grade predict outcomes in high school and beyond? A new study, published in Developmental Psychology, says yes.

Using longitudinal data tracking individuals from birth to adulthood, researchers found that third-graders who were more active and impulsive during the school day (indicators of lower self-control) were more likely to have lower academic achievement in elementary and high school, and fewer years of education as adults. 

“Being in the classroom requires some degree of self-control. Children are expected to walk instead of run, keep their hands to themselves, and stay in their seats when the situation requires,” says the study’s lead author Andrew E. Koepp, assistant professor of applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt. Applying this self-control takes effort and by the final ring of the school bell, children have been doing it for hours.”

“Our findings imply that, behaviorally speaking, most children tend to ‘lose it’ a bit by the end of the school day,” notes Koepp. “Interestingly, those who could ‘keep it together’ for longer tended to do better in school and were more likely to achieve educational success long-term.”

Researchers used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development for outcomes on a cohort born in 1991 whose data were collected from birth to the age of 26. They analyzed information for 747 individuals whose gross motor activity (e.g., running, jumping) was collected in third grade, measured by accelerometer devices worn daily around their waists for up to seven consecutive days.

“We focused on third grade because it marks a transition to middle childhood and greater independent control of behavior,” the authors note in the study.

To assess children’s self-regulation, the researchers evaluated activity levels in addition to teacher assessments regarding hyperactivity, academic achievement measured by math and reading scores, and self-reported data on the highest degree earned by age 26. 

They found that children’s activity tended to increase as the school day progressed. However, third-graders who showed greater spikes in daily activity were rated as more impulsive and disruptive by teachers, had lower math and reading scores in elementary and high school, and completed fewer years of education as adults. Children with more self-control had higher math and reading scores and 20% greater odds of completing a four-year degree.

“We know that self-control helps children ignore distractions and focus on learning. Our findings imply that self-control is not just a personality trait, but something that can wear out and also perhaps something that could be restored,” says Koepp. “As a society, we should value activities like recess that could let children blow off some steam and potentially recover some of this self-control. It might even benefit their learning.”

This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (2045095) and the National Institutes of Health (P2CHD042849).

 

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Journal

Developmental Psychology

DOI

10.1037/dev0002212 

Teenage risk-taking may reflect a compensatory response to lower baseline dopamine

 

Lower dopamine may drive teen substance use that fades with age– T

eenage risk-taking, such as experimentation with alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and other substances, may reflect a compensatory response to lower baseline dopamine, the brain chemical for reward activity, suggests a new University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study, published today in Nature Communications.

The study’s nuanced findings challenge previous beliefs associating higher dopamine with risk taking and could reshape how scientists think about brain development in adolescence. While additional research is needed, new evidence suggests that non-invasive measurements of brain dopamine could help inform research into which teens might benefit from additional support while navigating this critical stage of development and growth.

“Our results suggest that, for some teens, risk-taking may act as a way to ‘get the system going’ when dopamine-related reward biology is lower at the start of adolescence,” said lead and corresponding author Ashley Parr, Ph.D., research assistant professor of psychiatry at Pitt. “This finding is a big shift for the field because many people would assume higher dopamine activity would be linked to more substance use.”

Adolescence, a dynamic period during which a young person develops from a child into an adult, is a time when many teens begin testing boundaries and taking risks, including substance use experimentation. This exploratory behavior is well-known to many parents and is considered to be a normal part of growing up, an evolutionarily established biological process that is critical for brain development and progressing toward independence in adulthood.

Among a group of more than 800 teenagers, Parr and her team found that those who had lower levels of dopamine in the brain’s reward system were more likely to try substances than those with higher dopamine. But as the teens got older and their dopamine systems matured, their substance use tended to decrease. Most teens who experiment with substances do not develop substance use disorder as adults, and the researchers found that, as a whole, the study cohort’s substance use declined after the college years.

Unlike many adult-focused studies that measure brain dopamine after years of substance use, here researchers analyzed data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence and Young Adulthood (NCANDA-A), which captured changes in dopamine levels over time, including before, during and after patterns of substance use had been established. That approach helped the scientists understand whether dopamine-related differences may precede substance use behaviors rather than simply reflect the effects of substance exposure over time.

To better understand the biological underpinnings of risk-taking behavior, researchers analyzed more than 6,000 repeated assessments across years of self-reported drinking and drug use, impulsivity and ability to control those impulsive behaviors. Scientists also analyzed participants’ brain scans, collected annually for up to nine years, using a technique that measures brain tissue iron as proxy for dopamine content. This technique was pioneered in the lab of Pitt professor of psychiatry Beatriz Luna, Ph.D., by then-postdoctoral fellow Bart Larsen, Ph.D., now at the University of Minnesota.

The adolescent participants did not all follow the same path. Some showed low or minimal substance use, while others fit a “youth peak” pattern — increasing use earlier in adolescence followed by declines in their mid-twenties. Notably, adolescents in the “youth peak” group had significantly lower dopamine levels in comparison to all other groups, including those whose substance use continued to increase over time, or those who engaged in substance use in adulthood. As participants in the “youth peak” group got older, their brain dopamine levels steadily but rapidly increased, coinciding with the drop in substance use.

“The key question isn’t who experiments, but who continues, and who escalates their use into adulthood,” said Parr. “By tracking teens over time, we were able to pinpoint early brain and behavioral markers that help distinguish temporary, developmentally typical experimentation from patterns that may signal greater long‑term risk.”

This study did not measure social media behavior, though researchers noted that fast-paced, highly reinforcing digital environments may engage related reward processes, making this an important area for future research. Recent reports show that fewer youth are engaging in substance use behavior than in the past, and social media engagement could reflect a modern-day alternate means of reward-seeking. Parr’s findings identifying distinct patterns of risk-taking across adolescence could be used in the future to understand the development of other forms of reward seeking, including social media behavior.

“Risk-taking is a normal part of being a teenager, and for most kids it’s a phase that peaks and then eases,” said Luna, senior author of the study. “Parents can help by steering that drive for new, rewarding experiences toward positive social outlets like team sports, so teens can chase that ‘reward’ in healthier places.”

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-73611-1 

Social media use linked to poorer mental health in early adolescence

 

Adolescents who spend at least two hours a day on social media are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and poorer wellbeing, with the strongest effects in early adolescence, according to new research.

The decade-long study, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), found that higher levels of social media use between the ages of 12-18 years were associated with small but noticeable increases in mental health problems one year later, underscoring the need for policies that reduce excessive screentime.

MCRI and Deakin University Dr Nandi Vijayakumar said the findings added much needed insight into the potential impacts of social media on young people’s mental health, particularly during the early teenage years.

The longitudinal study followed almost 1,200 children in Melbourne from age nine to 19 who participated in the Child to Adult Transition Study (CATS). The study collected annual data, prior to Australia’s age-restrictions, on social media use and mental health outcomes including depression, anxiety, wellbeing and self-harm.

Published in the Medical Journal of Australia, it found adolescents who used social media for at least two hours a day were at increased risk of experiencing high depressive symptoms and poor wellbeing at the following annual assessment, compared with those who used these platforms for less than one hour a day. The strongest impact on mental health was seen in girls 12–13 years old.

Dr Vijayakumar said the results supported a focus on early adolescence as a critical window for intervention.

“Early adolescence stands out as a time when higher levels of social media use are linked to a greater risk of mental health problems one year on,” she said.  

“While the increases in risk were modest in our study, even small effects can have important public health implications when large numbers of young people are exposed. This is why early adolescence may be the key time to intervene.”  

MCRI Professor Susan Sawyer said the findings supported the need for a balanced approach to social media policies and practices.

“Concerns about the impact of social media on adolescent mental health have fuelled community and policy debates globally and driven Australia’s world-first social media legislation,” she said. “Despite all this, robust evidence of population-level impacts has remained limited, making our findings particularly significant.”

Many adolescents report positive experiences with social media around social belonging and self-expression. But high levels of mental health problems, cyberbullying and exposure to harmful online content have sparked widespread alarm.

“Our results don’t suggest that social media is universally harmful but it’s not without some harms,” Professor Sawyer said. “It reinforces the need for age-appropriate limits, better education and literacy programs and clearer parental guidance.”

Previous MCRI-led research has showed almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, noting that beyond clinical care, wider preventive strategies were urgently required. 

MCRI and Deakin University are also monitoring the impact of Australia’s social media age-restrictions on teenagers’ phone use, screentime, mental health and wellbeing.

The Connected Minds Study involves 13- to 16-year-olds who use social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, and their parents. They are sharing their experiences before and after the changes came into effect on 10 December 2025.

Research proposes fairness framework for faculty promotion and tenure decisions

Granting promotions and tenure to faculty members is among the most consequential decisions a university makes. Growing evidence suggests the process doesn't always work as it should.

A commentary published in Science Advances finds that extraneous factors, including a candidate's race, gender and whether they took a university-approved leave of absence, can influence who earns promotion and tenure, threatening the integrity of a process intended to reward scholarly merit.

To address those vulnerabilities, researchers from the Center for Excellence in Faculty Advancement (CEFA) — a multi-institution consortium led by University of California, Merced Professor Christiane Spitzmueller and University of Houston Professor Juan Madera — have proposed a comprehensive framework for reform.

The framework, which the authors call SET, is built on three principles:

• Structure: Standardize the process to reduce arbitrary variation
• Empowerment: Give promotion and tenure candidates meaningful tools and protections
• Transparency: Open up the process in areas where it has been historically opaque

SET identifies targeted, evidence-based changes that institutions can make in existing processes to reduce bias and inconsistency and ensures that the most meritorious faculty are recognized regardless of their background.

The commentary draws on a decade of CEFA research involving nearly 2,000 promotion and tenure candidates and more than 10,000 external review letters.

Here is a closer look at the recommendations behind the three principles and the issues they are designed to address:

Structure

• Promotion and tenure (P&T) committees operate with high autonomy and low accountability. The framework would require committees to document the rationale behind their decisions so that inconsistent or unexplained judgments can be identified and addressed.
• Evaluate candidates jointly, either alongside a peer going up for tenure the same year, or against a previous candidate's portfolio. CEFA research shows this can significantly reduce racial disparities in outcomes. Underrepresented minority faculty — particularly Black faculty and Black women — faced harsher evaluations than non-URM peers, with productivity judged more critically. At the college level, underrepresented minority candidates received 7% more negative votes and were 44% less likely to receive a unanimous vote. CEFA's research found that racial disparities were significantly reduced when candidates were evaluated jointly rather than in isolation.
• The premium placed on unanimous committee votes as a "gold standard" for P&T should be reconsidered; underrepresented minority faculty are less likely to achieve them, making unanimity a de facto penalty.
• Faculty who used tenure clock extensions — university-approved delays typically taken for caregiving, illness, or other life circumstances — received significantly more negative committee votes in CEFA's dataset. Women are disproportionately affected because they are more likely to take extensions. Institutions should adopt explicit policies protecting candidates from being penalized for using approved extensions
• External review letters carry significant weight in tenure decisions, yet the process for selecting who writes them is inconsistently tracked and varies widely. CEFA's research shows the letters often reflect the writer’s characteristics more than the candidate’s accomplishments. Writers are disproportionately senior, male, and white. Candidates whose letters were written by women are more likely to be promoted; letters written by women use more positive language and less doubt-laden phrasing.
• Publicly disclose committee composition and ensure committees reflect diversity in both academic discipline and lived experience.

Empowerment

• Connect incoming faculty with a formal mentorship network and individual development plans from the start of their appointment. Candidates with established professional networks or senior sponsors navigate the process with significant informal advantages that peers without such connections lack.
• Standardize portfolio formats and provide explicit templates and performance benchmarks so candidates know exactly what is expected of them.
• Give candidates the opportunity to review committee reports before a vote occurs and provide formal mechanisms to rebut inaccurate or misrepresented information.
• Extend formal mechanisms that allow candidates to flag potential conflicts of interest among committee members or proposed external review letter writers.

Transparency

• Make committee composition publicly available before deliberations begin.
• Give candidates clear, accessible information about the P&T process, including access to the institution's informal norms and expectations — what the researchers call the "hidden curriculum."
• Ensure candidates have equal access to information about how their cases will be evaluated — not just those with well-connected mentors or senior colleagues willing to share insider knowledge.
• Require that the rationale for committee decisions be documented and available to equity reviewers, creating accountability without eliminating confidential deliberation.

"Given emerging evidence on bias and mechanisms for building equity in promotion and tenure decisions, now is the time for continued discourse, further experimental and field research to elucidate barriers and interventions to support equity and validity, and evidence-based reform," the authors wrote.

The commentary urges university leaders, faculty affairs administrators, and policymakers to treat the P&T process not as a fixed tradition but as a system that can and should be strengthened to ensure it consistently rewards genuine scholarly merit.

The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.aed6134  

Science educator calls for climate change to be taught more in US schools

Given that today’s children will inherit the consequences of climate change, schools are instrumental in mobilizing a global response to the climate crisis, a science educator argues.

Climate literacy advocate Kelley T. Lê argues that climate change is the defining issue of our time, and in her new book, Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6–12: Activating Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS, Lê provides teachers, administrators, and global leaders with practical tools to empower students as climate leaders in their communities.

With over 15 years of experience in science education, Lê draws on her work as a teacher, instructional coach, and educational leader. Her advocacy for climate literacy has earned national recognition, including the Friends of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education.

A Blueprint for Transformation

The climate crisis is no longer a future concern but is occurring in real-time. However, on average, schools dedicate only one to two hours per year to climate-specific education. Many young people are ill-equipped to understand or respond to this critical issue, according to Lê, who suggests schools are the perfect place to fix this issue by empowering students to become informed decision-makers and change agents.

In Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6–12, Lê, Executive Director of the Grades of Green Nonprofit and former inaugural Executive Director of the UC-CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects, advocates for action. Using practical tools to teach climate science, this timely resource equips educators with the tools to teach climate change and foster students’ hope and resilience.

The book includes custom guides that help teachers address the complexity of climate change while tying the concept to urgent social and environmental justice issues. By linking lessons to climate events and culturally relevant teaching, Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6–12 transforms science education into a tool for empowerment.

“Education is the Hidden Superpower in the Fight Against Climate Change”

Lê believes education is the key to tackling the climate crisis: “Teachers have a unique opportunity to inspire and empower students to take meaningful action against climate change. This isn’t just about teaching science—it’s about equipping the next generation with the tools they need to build a sustainable and just future. Education has the power to catalyze change, and that work begins in our classrooms.”

The book comes at a critical time as climate literacy becomes an increasingly urgent global priority. Recent surveys show that while 90% of high school students believe climate change is happening, many lack the knowledge to explain its causes and consequences. Teachers are the bridge, bringing awareness and action and providing students with the skills to confront these challenges head-on.

Strategies to Empower Students in Addressing the Climate Crisis

• NGSS Alignment: This book inspires teachers to incorporate real-world climate phenomena into their lessons, aligning with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) while captivating students in enriching and impactful learning experiences.
• Equity and Justice Focus: It highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities, encouraging teachers to address these issues through culturally responsive practices.
• Student Agency: By linking classroom lessons to actionable solutions, the book empowers students to become advocates for change in their communities.

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DOI

10.4324/9781003478584 

Effect of major policy changes to US science funding on PhD students and postdoctoral researchers

 Shortly after major policy changes to US science funding began in early 2025, the authors of this study surveyed 916 young biomedical scientists – PhD students and postdoctoral researchers – about their career intentions and expectations. 

The results document a dramatic shift in sentiment. 

• Barely half of respondents now say they are likely to remain in academia, down 22 percentage points from how they felt six months earlier. 
• The fraction likely to stay in the United States fell by 21 percentage points. 
• Even satisfaction with having pursued a PhD in science declined by 16 percentage points. 

These are not the complaints of established scientists defending their budgets, but rather the stated intentions of the next generation – the scientists who would, in ordinary times, become the principal investigators of the future.

Effect of Government Policy Uncertainty: Evidence from Student Loan Forgiveness

 

How does uncertainty about future government policy affect households’ beliefs and subsequent borrowing, spending and debt payment behavior? 

This study examines these questions through the lens of student loan forgiveness in the United States, which following electoral promises, was announced in 2022 but never implemented due to judicial rulings, utilizing a customized information provision experiment embedded in a survey eliciting real-time beliefs about future debt forgiveness and repayment, linked to to credit bureau data, employment verification data, and nondurables consumption. 

Eligible borrowers who are more optimistic about forgiveness reduce payments on student loans by \$40 per month and increase non-durable spending by $100 per month.  Optimistic borrowers may postpone durable spending waiting for uncertainty to resolve. Borrowers optimistic about future payment pauses make fewer payments on their student loans, reduce payment by $40 per month and are 7.5 percentage points more likely to be delinquent after payments resume.