Why Interventions to Influence Adolescent Behavior Often Fail but Could Succeed

Abstract

We provide a developmental perspective on two related issues: (a) why traditional preventative school-based interventions work reasonably well for children but less so for middle adolescents and (b) why some alternative approaches to interventions show promise for middle adolescents. We propose the hypothesis that traditional interventions fail when they do not align with adolescents' enhanced desire to feel respected and be accorded status; however, interventions that do align with this desire can motivate internalized, positive behavior change. We review examples of promising interventions that (a) directly harness the desire for status and respect, (b) provide adolescents with more respectful treatment from adults, or (c) lessen the negative influence of threats to status and respect. These examples are in the domains of unhealthy snacking, middle school discipline, and high school aggression. Discussion centers on implications for basic developmental science and for improvements to youth policy and practice.

Keywords: adolescence; autonomy; behavior change; interventions; puberty; status; testosterone.

Figures

Figure 1

Moderation of school-based bullying prevention program effects (Cohen’s d) by grade level in school (Yeager et al., 2015). Estimated values from three-level meta-analysis. Higher values correspond to more beneficial effect sizes. Grade levels on the U.S. scale.

Figure 2. A healthy eating intervention creates high social-status appeal and changes free-choice behavior. Standardized regression coefficients. * p<.05, ***p<.001, N=468

Source: Bryan et al. (2016). c path above the line is the unconditional direct effect; the path below the line is the c’ path in a model that accounts for the effect of the mediator.

Figure 3. Effect of a hand-written wise feedback note (conveying high standards + assurance) from a social studies teacher in spring of 7th grade on discipline incidents one-year post-intervention, in 8th grade, by student racial group. N=88. Raw values. Bars represent one standard error of the mean

Source: Yeager, Purdie-Vaughns, Hooper, & Cohen (2017).

Figure 4. Changing the meaning of a threat to status/respect reduced aggression for high school adolescents, whereas a traditional anti-aggression intervention that taught coping skills did not. Bars respresent 1 standard error of the mean

Source: Yeager, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2013).