# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Physical activity that amplifies learning can have a powerful effect on retention and engagement-it's also fun.

Allison Shelley for the Alliance for Excellent Education

When researchers at Texas A&M University gave standing desks to 34 high school students, they discovered that after consistent use, standing while learning delivered a significant boost to students' executive functioning skills-the sorts of cognitive skills that allow kids to manage their time, understand and memorize information, and organize thoughts in writing. Even small amounts of movement, this emerging research revealed, can deliver a positive impact on learning: Neurocognitive testing of the standing students, the pilot study notes, showed a 7 to 14 percent improvement in their cognitive performance, a noteworthy impact for such a simple intervention.

Infusing classrooms with physical activity-or at least the option of some movement, at student discretion-isn't just good for kids' bodies, it's also a powerful tool for improving learning and focus and reducing classroom management issues. And yet, from kindergarten through high school "students spend most of their academic lives at a desk," says educator Brad Johnson for The Washington Post, an arrangement that is meant to increase their focus and academic productivity, but can actually create kids who are "bored, off-task, disruptive or otherwise disengaged."

There are many smart, innovative ways to build movement into lessons and the research increasingly supports getting kids moving in schools to promote better physical health, provide the types of breaks that reset our cognitive processes so that we can learn anew, and even link our physical bodies to our cognitive insights to encode learning more deeply. From intentionally aligning curriculum with movement to improve retention, to planning frequent and active brain breaks to clear working memory, here are more than a dozen ways educators and researchers are pairing learning with movement.

INTEGRATING MOVEMENT IN THE CURRICULUM

Incorporating gross and fine motor activities across many subject areas makes a lot of sense, particularly to teach foundational concepts. In math classes, for instance, you can create chalk grids on the playground and have children walk sloped lines, stopping to discuss and walk the line's "rise" and "run," or you can use hand and arm gestures to teach a broader range of mathematical concepts like tangents and cosines. Here are a few more ways educators are injecting movement into lessons.

In Science, Becoming a Liquid: Science teacher and instructional coach JaShan Wilson turned social distancing requirements into an opportunity for her students to "use their own bodies to model movements, test phenomena, and engage with the curriculum."

For lessons on matter and particle movement, for example, she asks students to "act like solids, liquids, or gases," and then "switch it up as in Simon Says until all students sped up, slowed down, or vibrated in order to represent how matter moves." For a unit on energy, Wilson's students examine the transfer of energy by making wave movements with their arms. "The more energy they apply, the higher the amplitude," Wilson notes. Engaging students in these "human labs," as Wilson calls them, delivered impressive academic results: Her students did better on formative assessments and "continued to utilize the movements and reference the activities, which showed how they connected the concepts to them permanently."

Playing Basketball Math: In a six-week study involving 757 Copenhagen elementary school students, researchers had half the students do math while playing basketball. The other half studied math in class as usual, and played basketball solely as a regular gym activity.

The kids who played while doing math did tasks like "counting how many times they could sink a basket from three meters away versus at a one-meter distance," and then added up the numbers, says Linn Damsgaard, one of the study's authors. Among the students who played basketball while doing math, the researchers reported a 6 percent boost in math mastery; a 16 percent increase in intrinsic motivation; and a 14 percent improvement in "perceived autonomy," or self-determination, compared to peers learning in the classroom.

Student Thespians: When researchers asked 8-year-olds to mimic the words they were learning in another language by using their hands and bodies to act out the word's meaning-by spreading their arms and pretending to fly while they learned the German word for airplane, for example-the students were 73 percent more likely to recall them, even two months later.

In ELA and social study classes, having kids partake in skits may feel like it's inviting chaos, but the body will often remember what the mind forgets-and getting students to act out historical events or scenes from works of literature can help them remember the information, grasp the basic elements of drama, or provide them with a new opportunity to listen to the sounds and rhythms of written and spoken language.

Drawing It Out: Even indifferent or unpracticed artists benefit by drawing what they've learned, a 2018 study concluded, resulting in retention rates that were double the rates of when kids wrote or read.

When a student draws a concept, they "must elaborate on its meaning and semantic features," the researchers explain, while engaging "in the actual hand movements needed for drawing"-a rich mixture of cognitive and physiological activities that encodes learning more deeply and is a "reliable, replicable means of boosting performance."

The drawing doesn't have to be expert-level: even stick figures or crude shapes accompanied by annotations will do, and data visualizations work similarly to hand-drawn pictures. You can assess learning by allowing kids to try one-pagers that demonstrate their understanding of a topic through art; incorporate more graphs and statistical modeling into math and science classes; have students draw models of solar systems or cells in science classes; or let students create travel journals to document any learning journey graphically.

ACTIVE BRAIN BREAKS

Research shows that when students take brief, active breaks throughout the day, it increases productivity, creativity, and social skills. "When we take a brain break, it refreshes our thinking and helps us discover another solution to a problem or see a situation through a different lens," writes Lori Desautels, an assistant professor at the Butler University College of Education. "The brain break actually helps to incubate and process new information," says Desautels.

So plan for frequent breaks (we've included a few ideas to get you started) and keep them active and social-a brisk walk around the perimeter of the classroom, a quick stretch, an energizing freeze dance.

Brain breaks for younger students: Try wiggle breaks where kids stand and wiggle each arm and leg in succession or opposite sides, where kids blink one eye while snapping fingers on the opposite side and then reverse the exercise. For energizing breath, have students pant like dogs with their mouths open and tongues out for 30 seconds, hands on the belly, then breathe briskly for another 30 seconds with mouths closed. Easier still: invite kids to jump in place like they're on a trampoline; or keep it really simple with a quick crab walk around the room.

Brain breaks for older students: Try a wave, starting at one end of the room with students standing and raising their arms; or have them get out of their chairs for a whole-body stretch or for a brief walk around the room. They can also pass a ball around for a quick game of catch, practice a few yoga poses like tree pose or warrior II, or very simply, ask them to hop on one foot, then switch to the other foot for a minute or two.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MOVEMENT WHILE LEARNING

Doodling, Fidgeting, and More: There's often confusion about movement that is not directly related to learning. While drawing a plant cell or creating a pictorial representation of a scene from a novel will deepen retention and result in more durable learning, when students doodle during lessons-by drawing elaborate cartoons while an unrelated lesson is in progress, for example-the research, and the cognitive science, suggests that learning is compromised.

In a 2019 study during which students were asked to doodle-which the researchers defined as "drawing that is semantically unrelated to to-be-remembered information"-while they learned, they showed "poorer free recall for words encoded while free-form doodling compared to words that were drawn or written."

Multitasking divides our attention, a finite cognitive resource, and makes us less proficient at both tasks. But there's a wrinkle here, too: There is some evidence that activities that require very little attention, like fidgeting or listening to soft background music (but probably not loud or attention-gobbling music), don't divide our focus to the same degree. Being tolerant of a certain amount of fidgeting or a pair of headphones is an important accommodation for students who might otherwise need to get out of their seats entirely, or might struggle with focused, demanding tasks like homework. In the end, the more distracting any task is to the lesson, the less likely learning is to stick.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More Than a Dozen Ways to Build Movement Into Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Physical activity that amplifies learning can have a powerful effect on retention and engagement-it's also fun.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Incorporating movement into the classroom is not just a way to break the monotony of traditional teaching methods; it's a scientifically-backed strategy to enhance student engagement, motivation, focus, and overall well-being. Research consistently shows that physical activity has incredibly positive effects on the brain, including improved memory and brain function, enhanced focus and attention span, and significant relief from stress and anxiety.

1. Improved Memory and Brain Function: Physical activity increases blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, particularly to the hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in memory and learning. This increased oxygenation stimulates the release of neurotransmitters that support cognitive functions and promotes the generation of new brain cells. The results, in layman's terms? After physical activity, people are primed for better memory, comprehension, and information retention: all key cognitive abilities to support effective learning.

2. Enhanced Focus and Attention Span: Integrating exercise and movement into students' routines can significantly enhance their focus and attention. After physical activity, students show an improvement in focus that can last up to several hours. Incorporating short movement breaks, like walks, stretching, or quick games, can actually help students perform higher academically, especially those who struggle to maintain attention.

3. Stress and Anxiety Relief: Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins: hormones that promote well-being and reduce the perception of pain. These endorphins can reduce stress and alleviate symptoms of anxiety. Regular activity can improve self-esteem, enhance sleep quality, and promote clearer mental function, helping students (and everyone else!) maximize their cognitive capabilities.
The Evidence
- Numerous studies support the benefits of movement in the classroom. At Untapped, an example we reference at least weekly is the research from Dr. John Ratey's bestseller, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. The book dives into a study that took place in Naperville, IL. After implementing daily physical activity for students, Naperville High School saw remarkable improvements in science test scores, in addition to higher state rankings in math and reading.

- Similarly, studies conducted by Western Governors University and published in Pediatrics have demonstrated that regular exercise boosts academic performance, reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, and elevates self-esteem among students.

- A study published in Pediatrics showed that students with ADHD who exercised 30 minutes every day for 12 weeks demonstrated significant improvements in attention and memory.
Behavior Management in the Classroom with Movement
Classroom movement time should be a vital part of the school day, similar to math, reading, or any other subject. Many teachers are uncomfortable with the thought of students' movement due to potential behavior management concerns. That's valid! To maintain order and maximize the benefits of movement, consider these strategies:

Educate students about the benefits of movement for their brains and bodies.

Help them understand how movement can improve their focus, memory, and learning experience.

Enforce students to take ownership of their learning by participating in movement activities.

Set Clear Expectations and Practice

Establish rules and appropriate behaviors for movement time.

Allow students to practice the transition in a controlled manner.

Gradually increase the complexity and length of movement time as students become more comfortable and can transition back quickly.

Use precise praise and a warm and strict approach. Acknowledge and reinforce positive behaviors during movement activities but quickly hold students who go off track accountable.

Use Multiple Modalities to Regain Attention - Here are techniques we have seen work to transition from movement back to learning:

Ring Bell and Verbal Reminders: Signal the end of movement time with a distinct bell or chime. Pair the auditory cue with clear verbal instructions for the next activity. Practice the attention-getting routine regularly to build muscle memory.

Music and Verbal Reminders: Play a specific song to indicate the transition period. Gradually lower the volume as students settle back into their seats. Provide verbal cues during the music to guide students through the transition.

Consider Putting Engaging Content or Positive Reinforcement After Movement

Use the post-movement time for collaborative or interactive tasks that benefit from heightened engagement.

Plan exciting or challenging activities immediately following movement breaks to capitalize on increased focus and energy.

Positive reinforcement will be needed after a smooth transition from movement to learning activities. Also, remind them that the class will receive more movement breaks with smooth transitions.

The research is clear: exercise benefits students, especially neurodiverse students. It aids their learning, sharpens their focus, and mitigates stress and anxiety. As educators, incorporating movement into classroom routines can significantly improve student learning, focus, and overall well-being. This approach supports academic success and fosters a healthier, more engaging learning environment.

As an educator, you work tirelessly to support your students' growth and success. Thank you for all that you do. Let Untapped help your staff develop strategies to improve all students' executive function skills.
For More: Ways to Use Movement in Teaching Importance of Movement Movement and Learning Exercise and the Brain Regular Exercise Changes Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Movement in the Classroom: Enhancing Student Engagement and Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Incorporating movement into the classroom is a strategy to enhance student engagement, motivation, focus, and overall well-being.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Regular exercise is important, but it can be a challenge to get teens moving. Here's what you need to know about teens and exercise.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"It's raining kids in my office," says Roy Boorady, Ph.D., assistant professor of child and adult psychiatry at New York University's School of Medicine and Child Study Center. Every spring, psychologists who do neuropsychological testing are inundated with middle- and high-school students who are floundering. And the reasons for their visits are usually the same: They find it hard to navigate the swift currents of their educational environments.

Such children are often diagnosed as having learning disabilities or attention deficit disorder ( ADHD or ADD), and interventions are prescribed. Many improve, sometimes dramatically. But others, despite educational services and medical help, continue to have problems. Some fall further behind; others burn out and give up trying. The vexing question is "Why?"

Signs of Executive-Function Deficit

In addition to the learning or attention deficit problems such children exhibit, many also display executive-function (EF) deficits. They lack the abilities to handle frustration, start and complete tasks, recall and follow multi-step directions, stay on track, plan, organize, and self-monitor. ADHD therapists and other professionals who can evaluate and diagnose ADHD typically point out executive-function problems, but many families dismiss them as less critical than other learning challenges. However, it is clear that effective executive functioning is a key factor in remedying academic difficulties.
[Could Your Child Have an Executive Function Deficit? Take This Test]
Executive functions are the skills that an individual of any age must master to deal with everyday life. Self-monitoring is particularly important for students, because it governs their ability to evaluate their work and behavior in real time. It separates successful students from the failures.

"Executive functions include learning to balance sports, music, and other social activities with academic demands," says Susan Micari, M.S. Ed., past president of the New York Chapter of the Association of Educational Therapists. "It often requires the student to recognize that he or she needs extra support from teachers, and to be able to ask for it." Micari notes that executive-function deficits are thought to play a significant role in the severity of ADHD and dyslexia.

When Executive Function Problems Start

The transitions to sixth and ninth grades are critical for students. Over the span of one short summer, two things happen. For sixth-graders, the structure found in elementary school disappears. For ninth-graders, the level of academic expectation rises dramatically. Students with strong verbal abilities, who would have been expected to perform at a high level, stumble if they have executive-function problems.

It is crucial for parents, educators, and therapists to address executive-function problems, as well as learning problems, in order to serve struggling students. Often, though, learning difficulties are treated while executive functions are ignored. This approach is akin to repairing a car's transmission but ignoring its faulty steering.

Parents usually understand a diagnosis of ADHD or learning disabilities. They've heard about these disorders and about the range of treatments for them, starting with medication. Unfortunately, the message about executive function often gets lost.
[Free Checklist: Common Executive Function Challenges - and Solutions]
"Parents don't understand why their children aren't able to work independently on homework or in the classroom or be better organized," says Marianne Findler, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical Center. "They assume that their child will 'pick up' executive-function skills, once he has been shown what to do. Their quick fix is to purchase a new planner or electronic organizer."

Where to Get Help for Executive Function and ADHD

Who can provide executive-function remediation? Most parents don't have the knowledge or skills to address EF deficits. What's more, preteens and teens dislike being nagged by their parents, who, in turn, don't want to be the "homework police." Schools usually don't have special-ed teachers equipped to deal with EF challenges either. Students need coaching from professionals who specialize in EF problems and how to teach the skills to improve them. Talking with your doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist is usually the best place to start.

Good executive-function skills are not a guarantee of school success, but their absence is a predictor of difficulty at some point, and of the loss of self-esteem that follows. We need to help our children early on, so they can succeed in school and life.

Detecting Executive-Function Deficits

How can parents find out whether their child has executive-function problems? While a child in the bottom 20 percent of his class would likely benefit from a full-scale neuropsychological evaluation, a full battery of tests can be prohibitively expensive. Most parents and schools don't have those kinds of resources.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) is a respected evaluative tool that costs a fraction of a full neuropsychological exam. It uses a written survey that is administered to children, parents, and teachers. BRIEF is quick and, most important, accurate.
[Treatments and Strategies for Weak Executive Functions]
SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Testing Ground for Executive Functions? Sixth Grade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Middle school is hell for many kids. Aside from social struggles, many begin to miss deadlines, lose assignments, and drop balls as executive function deficits come to light. Earty detection and intervention, though, can make a huge difference.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
“Physical activity,” “exercise,” and “physical fitness” are terms that describe different concepts. However, they are often confused with one another, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. This paper proposes definitions to distinguish…

# data[].attributes.body
If you are interested in exercise research this source was very helpful!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The surprisingly big health benefits of just a little exercise

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
‘Exercise snacks’ and other forms of everyday movement can greatly reduce the risk of heart disease and death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is Executive Function? :: The Baker Center For Children and Families

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Executive functioning skills include the methods that allow us to make plans, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. Core to these abilities are the skills of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition control. It is important to note that these skills are not fixed at a certain level, and they develop over time for all people. While we know that executive function abilities decline with aging, and individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD have impaired executive function, there are ways to keep and improve these skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome to the official website of Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) in children & adults who has dedicated his career to widely disseminating science-based information about ADHD. Dr. Barkley was recently named by Research.com as the 37th most influential psychological researcher in the US and the 65th most influential in the world in terms of the impact of his research on the field of psychology, as verified by the number of research articles citing his work. Dr. Barkley retired as a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (1985-2002) and later worked as a Professor of Psychiatry and Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (2003-2016). He taught as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (2016-2021). He is now fully retired.

Taking Charge of Adult ADHD

More Books by
Dr. Barkley

Online and DVD Courses

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Russell A. Barkley - Dedicated to Education and Research on ADHD

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the official website of Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) in children & adults who has dedicated his career to widely disseminating science-based information about ADHD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

When a teacher noticed her kids fighting at recess, she turned to neuroscience and mindfulness practice to help them take control of their emotions.

Five years into teaching conflict resolution to elementary school students, Linda Ryden realized she was missing the mark.

"On the surface, it all looked good. But day after day I would see children, often some of our most vulnerable and troubled students, being sent to the office for fighting at recess," Ryden, a peace teacher at Lafayette Elementary School in Washington, DC, writes for EdSurge. "Some of these kids would go straight from my classroom where we had been role-playing how to work out a conflict to the playground where they would get into a fight over who goes first on the swings."

Despite all her work, Ryden concluded that her students simply couldn't think clearly enough to make good choices when confronted with the actual moment of conflict. She went back to the drawing board, and found that the neuroscience of anger-the role of the amygdala in "hijacking" the brain's higher-order skills, like self-control, for example-provided useful context for her students. Once they understood this framework, students quickly adopted the language of brain-based learning, Ryden says, with one student approaching her to insist that he was "all amygdala" and needed help with his self-regulation.

But understanding how anger works isn't enough, Ryden knew. She had never been a meditator, she admits, "but as I was searching for ways to help my students I kept reading about mindfulness-in particular, breathing strategies that can calm us down in the moment. There isn't much research about its impact on students, yet, but what is out there appears promising."

The two strategies-the neuroscience of anger and the self-regulatory power of mindfulness-snapped together in a way that felt immediately useful. "Once I was able to teach my students what was happening in their brains when they were angry and how they could take care of their brains with mindful breathing, then working out the conflict was a breeze," she says. "Giving my students these tools quickly began to change their lives, my life, and the climate of the school."

Making It Tangible for Kids

To help her students understand what happens in their brains when they get angry, Ryden made a puppet using a mitten, googly eyes, and pompoms. The puppet is a tangible way to show her students what happens when their prefrontal cortex-the part of the brain responsible for thinking and executive function-goes offline when kids get angry and their amygdala-the part of the brain responsible for responding to threats and danger-takes over and begins making decisions for them. She realized this visual tool could be an important part of her practice after watching Daniel J. Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, use his hand to demonstrate what happens in the brain when we get angry.

Once her students, beginning as early as first grade and continuing through fifth grade, gain a basic understanding of what's happening in their brains, Ryden begins teaching tools they can use to literally calm their brains. She does this by teaching them different techniques for taking deep and calming breaths, such as take 5 breathing, for example. "Neuroscientists have found that the act of taking deep breaths sends a message to your amygdala that everything is OK, that your amygdala can stand down and let other parts of the brain take over," Ryden says, noting that this is a simplified explanation of a very complex process. "Then you can deal with the problem that's causing you to be upset."

Integrating Mindfulness During the School Day

At Lafayette Elementary, Ryden says teachers give students opportunities twice a day for what she calls "mindful moments." This daily frequency and repetition is important because teaching, learning, and practicing mindfulness isn't a quick fix. "It takes a very long time for people to change their patterns and how they behave," she says. In class, teachers refer to a poster with nine different ways for students to practice mindfulness. These include gravity hands (sitting with hands palms up, breathing in while slowly lifting hands, then breathing out while slowly dropping them, palms down) and squeeze and release (tensing up muscles while breathing in, relaxing muscles while breathing out).

"A lot of mindfulness practice isn't about calming down," says Ryden. "It can be applied to life's challenges in so many ways. The goal shouldn't be: 'These kids are out of control, let's get mindfulness in here.' Rather, it should help you understand yourself better, how you think about things, and eventually, help make the world a better place."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Brain Science Teaches Us About Conflict Resolution

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When a teacher noticed her kids fighting at recess, she turned to neuroscience and mindfulness practice to help them take control of their emotions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
High-level cognitive skills help middle and high school students manage their emotions, behaviors, and responsibilities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Executive Functioning and ADHD vs. Anxiety

# data[].attributes.subject
Executive Functioning and ADHD vs. Anxiety

# data[].attributes.body
Reframing negative thoughts as a part of CBT

# data[].attributes.body
This is geared more towards younger kids, but it's a quick video explaining cognitive distortions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Distortions for Kids - Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) | Thinking Traps - CBT for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to recognize and tame your cognitive distortions - Harvard Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognitive distortions are internal mental filters or biases that fuel anxiety and make us feel bad about ourselves. These filters can cause us to devolve into counterproductive brooding that...

# data[].attributes.body
Diving deeper into CBT

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Distortions: 10 Examples of Distorted Thinking

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognitive distortions, or distorted thinking, cause people to view reality in inaccurate, often negative, ways. Here’s how to identify and change these distortions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What’s the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today? Exercise! says neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. Get inspired to go to the gym as Suzuki discusses the science of how working out boosts your mood and memory -- and protects your brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Nurture Executive Functioning in Teens with Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, Episode #24

# data[].attributes.headline
Educator's Guide to Executive Function for students with ADHD.

# data[].attributes.subject
Educator's Guide to Executive Function for students with ADHD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Access denied | www.additudemag.com used Cloudflare to restrict access | www.additudemag.com | Cloudflare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
December 28, 2025 - Korin Miller | Prevention

Originally published on AOL on December 9, 2025.

There is a strong link between regular physical exercise and good brain health, according to one study.

Researchers found that just 12 weeks of consistent exercise caused improvements in memory and cognitive function.

Workouts that increase your heart rate are best-they increase blood flow, decrease inflammation, and strengthen the brain.

While it's true that doing puzzles and playing brain games can help maintain your memory and keep you mentally sharp as you get older, research suggests that the best approach to good brain health is a combination of mental and physical exercise. In fact, a study published in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicineshows that exercise helps boost brain health.

Meet the experts: Ben Singh, Ph.D.,lead study author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of South Australia; Steven K. Malin, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Rutgers University; Amit Sachdev, M.D., the director of neuromuscular medicine at Michigan State University Health Care; Clifford Segil, D.O., a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA

Read on to discover what the study found, how researchers believe physical exercise supports brain health, and the best forms of exercise to try.

What the study found

For the study, researchers analyzed data from 133 randomized controlled trials to see how exercise impacts the brain. The researchers looked at exercise's impact on cognition (thinking, perceiving, and reasoning), memory, and executive function (the ability to plan and organize thoughts), based on the results of brain function tests.

On average, the researchers discovered that exercise caused a noticeable boost in cognition, along with smaller boosts in memory and executive function. They also looked at the impact across all ages and found that kids and teens had the biggest increase in memory.

The researchers discovered that most people had these brain boosts after 12 weeks of starting a regular exercise program, and that people didn't need to do high-intensity workouts to get the benefits. (Even playing active video games was helpful in some cases-more on that in a moment.)

How might exercise improve brain health?

There are a few things going on here. One is that exercise increases blood flow in the body, delivering oxygen to the brain and other organs, explained Ben Singh, Ph.D., lead study author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of South Australia. That also ensures that the brain receives important nutrients to support its function and plasticity, which is the brain's ability to adapt, he added.

Exercise also stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which encourages the growth of new neurons (nerve cells that send messages through the body) and strengthens existing connections between neurons, Singh said.

"Regular physical activity also reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which contribute to cognitive decline," Singh continued.

Exercise also enhances the function of neurotransmitters, which transmit signals from neurons to other cells, by increasing levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. "These play key roles in mood regulation, memory, and cognitive processing," Singh said. "It also helps regulate stress hormones such as cortisol, reducing the negative effects of chronic stress on the brain."

Your vascular health plays an important role here, too, said Steven K. Malin, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Rutgers University. "When people lack fitness, their blood vessels often become stiff and this creates greater workload on the heart to pump blood to various organs, including the brain," he said.

Exercise even improves the function of the mitochondria (cell powerhouses) in muscle and the brain, Malin added. "Improving brain mitochondrial function could be very important for lowering oxidative stress and inflammation that can disrupt neuronal function that regulates cognition and memory," he said.

How exercise supports brain function as you age

While the above study found the strongest improvements in memory and executive function after exercise in young people, staying active may also support healthy brain function as you get older. At baseline, exercise helps to work against some of the natural changes that can happen in the brain as you age, Singh said.

"As the brain ages, it undergoes structural and functional changes that can lead to cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia," he explained. "Exercise helps counteract these effects by preserving brain volume, particularly in regions essential for memory, such as the hippocampus."

Physical activity may strengthen pathways in the brain linked with memory and executive function, helping keep your brain sharp over time, Singh said. " Research also indicates that physically active individuals have a lower risk of developing dementia," he added. "Moreover, exercise improves vascular health by reducing the risk of hypertension and stroke, both of which can negatively impact brain function."

The best exercises for brain health

Doctors generally agree that any kind of movement is good for your brain (and your body) compared to doing nothing. "The best advice when it comes to exercise is that some is better than none, and it's never too late to try," said Amit Sachdev, M.D., the director of neuromuscular medicine at Michigan State University Health Care. But this particular study found that certain types of exercises provided specific cognitive benefits.

Aerobic exerciseslike walking, jogging, swimming, and biking enhance blood flow, stimulate BDNF release, and support memory and executive function, Singh said. Strength-training, including resistance exercises like weightlifting and bodyweight movements, helps regulate insulin levels, reduce inflammation, and improve cognitive resilience.

"High-intensity interval training ( HIIT) has been shown to boost neuroplasticity and cognitive flexibility," Singh said. "Mind-body exercises such as yoga, tai chi, and dance combine movement with mindfulness, improving coordination, reducing stress, and enhancing cognitive function."

Exergames, which are physically active video games, can also boost memory and executive function, especially in kids and older adults. "Even light-intensity activities, such as walking or gardening, can provide cognitive benefits, highlighting the importance of regular movement for brain health," Singh added.

If you have the choice, it's a good idea to do what you can to get your heart pumping, said Clifford Segil, D.O., a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. "Activities which increase your heart rate are better for brain health, as these result in increased blood flow to the brain while exercising," he said.

Ultimately, if brain health is a priority for you, it's a good idea to get moving.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scientists Say This Simple Habit Boosts Brain Health in as Little as 12 Weeks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
December 28, 2025 - Korin Miller | Prevention

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Physical activity and cognitively difficulties in adolescents: A cross-sectional study of 13,677 participants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve cognitive ability in adolescents. However, there is evidence for the impact of different PA character…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exercise linked to brain ‘fitness’ in preteens - Boston Children’s Answers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A study of nearly 6,000 9- and 10-year-olds suggests that exercise — in any form — helps the brain organize more efficiently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Four Strategies to Help Students Strengthen Their Executive-Function Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Executive functioning helps kids manage their time, regulate their emotions, and make thoughtful decisions—essential skills for school and for life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Helping Kids Who Struggle With Executive Functions - Child Mind Institute

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learning specialists discuss how to help kids who have problems with executive functions stay organized and on top of their responsibilities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Executive function refers to skills that help you manage life’s essential tasks like making plans, solving problems and managing your emotions. Learn more about this instrumental function here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Executive Functioning: Helping Children Learn Skills for Life | Brown University Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Executive functioning skills help us meet challenges head on in daily life and persevere. Teaching children these skills sets them up for success for life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Ways to Build Your Teen’s Executive Function Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You’ve probably heard the phrase “adulting is hard.” It certainly can be true; being a grownup sometimes is a real drag. As you age into adulthood, your responsibilities typically grow. As responsibilities grow, so too does the need for executive functioning. Executive function skills help us make decisions, complete tasks and control our emotions. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Improving Executive Function in Teens - Sasco River

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For many teens, especially those with executive function challenges, that level of responsibility can feel overwhelming.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Executive functioning skills-like planning, time management, organization, and self-control-are essential for teens to succeed in school, relationships, and life. But these skills don't always come naturally, especially during adolescence, when the brain is still developing. The good news? Executive functioning can improve with intentional practice and support.
Here's how you can help your teen build better habits this year while boosting their executive functioning skills.
What Are Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive skills that allow individuals to manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions to achieve goals. These include:

Working Memory: Holding and using information in the short term.

Inhibitory Control: Resisting impulses and staying focused.

Cognitive Flexibility: Adapting to new situations and solving problems.

Task Initiation: Being able to get started and avoid procrastination.

Prioritization: Accurately identifying the highest priority tasks and acting accordingly.

And more (read here)

When executive functioning is strong, teens can complete assignments on time, remember commitments, and manage stress. When it's weak, they may struggle with procrastination, forgetfulness, or emotional outbursts.

The Importance of Building Better Habits

Habits form the foundation for growth. Small, consistent actions help teens feel more in control of their responsibilities and reduce overwhelm. By linking habit-building with executive functioning skills, you're giving your teen tools to thrive not just in school, but in all areas of life.

Steps to Build Better Habits

1. Start Small and Specific

Encourage your teen to focus on one habit at a time. For example:

Celebrating and noting small wins and babystepping towards larger-scale goals can lead to bigger changes over time.

2. Create a Routine

Habits stick best when they're part of a predictable routine. Work with your teen to create a daily or weekly schedule that includes:

Study time

Chores or other commitments

Relaxation and sleep

Time with friends

Using a planner or digital app can help them visualize their day and prioritize tasks to make sure they make space for all the things they want to do and have to do. You know they're going to make time for the fun things they want to do anyway-often at the expense of the less enjoyable tasks they have to do. Instead of saying they can't do them, work with your teen to schedule those fun things first and show them the windows of time they'll have for studying, homework, sleep, etc.

3. Use Positive Reinforcement

Celebrate progress, no matter how small. Did they finish their homework before dinner? Acknowledge it! Positive reinforcement boosts motivation and encourages consistency.

4. Teach Self-Monitoring

Help your teen evaluate their own progress. Questions like, "What worked well today?" or "What could I improve tomorrow?" can encourage self-awareness and adaptability -key components of executive functioning.

5. Address Challenges Without Judgment

When your teen struggles, focus on coming up with solutions rather than blaming them. For example:

Struggle: Forgetting to pack gym clothes.

Solution: Set reminders on their phone for the days they need to remember certain items.

Mistakes are opportunities for growth, and you're not going to land on a system that works the first time. Get comfortable with trial-and-error and help your teen find the tools that work for them.

The Role of Brain Training in Strengthening Learning Skills

While building habits is essential, some teens may need additional support to strengthen executive functioning skills. That's where LearningRx can help.

Our brain training programs are designed to target and improve the cognitive skills that underlie executive functioning. By working with a personal brain trainer, your teen can develop skills like focus, working memory, and problem-solving. In surveys and research studies on past clients, families have reported not just stronger processing but also greater confidence, independence, and academic growth!*

If you're questioning your teen's ability to function independently or keep up with the pace of their world, it's worth digging deeper to find the reasons they may be struggling. Our cognitive assessment is a helpful starting point to answer the question of WHY they're struggling-rather than just providing constant workarounds for their weaknesses.

*Every brain is unique so individual outcomes may vary; read more about our research and results here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Executive Functioning: Help Teens Build Better Habits - LearningRx Brain Training

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Is your teen consistently dropping balls and falling behind? Executive functioning skills are so important for life and learning...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kross agrees. "Even among neuroscientists, there are probably eight different definitions of executive function," he notes. "When thinking about kids in school, moving up one level to the question of self-control-which I define broadly as a person's ability to align their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors with their goals-ends up being a lot more productive."

We took some of their best insights, and pored over recent research, to find eight powerful, evidence-based strategies.

Talking Ourselves Into It

Consider these strategies:

Have kids write about it.

Learning-Do It On Purpose

To link learning and purpose, try these approaches:

Ask about interests and passions.

Pass the torch to the kids.

Make time for (rigorous) projects.

Plan to Practice, Practice to Plan

Keep these tactics top of mind:

Scaffold scheduling, deadlines, and study habits.

Introduce your tech tools.

Introducing a calendar once or twice during the year is not the same as integrating one into classroom routines, and a great gulf lies between assigning an essay that connects learning and purpose, and asking students to make those connections weekly. To get teens to start "aligning goals with behaviors," in Kross' words, we need to find ways to get them to practice, fail, and practice again.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 Ways to Bolster Executive Function in Teens and Tweens

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Middle and high school students suddenly face more complex schedules, tougher academic work, and an expanding network of friends. How can we help them manage it all?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CBT in the classroom. CBT in an Educational setting. | Behaviour Institute

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CBT in the classroom. Teachers can use cognitive-behavioral strategies effectively support students with managing behaviour and improve mental health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Behavioural Theory: How Thoughts Shape Learning and Behaviour

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CBT principles explain how pupils’ thoughts about themselves affect motivation and behaviour. Understand cognitive distortions, automatic thoughts and practical classroom strategies for helping students challenge unhelpful thinking patterns.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The secret to motivating students | Eliseo Fernández Barrionuevo | TEDxBrewster Park ED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Ways to Improve Your Teen's Executive Skills

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When your teen with ADHD needs help on tasks, but pushes you away, here's how you can work with them to turn their executive weaknesses into skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ADHD In Adolescence: Enhancing Success For Middle And High School Students -Article 5634

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Occupational therapists working with middle and high school adolescents with ADHD are provided with evidence-based strategies and interventions in this 1-hour workshop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exercise Affects How the Teen Brain Encodes Memories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More and more research suggests that exercise is good for the aging brain. Researchers are also now working to understand how exercise affects the brains and behaviors of adolescents. A new study shows that while exercise does not improve teenagers’ performance on certain memory tasks, it does affect how their brains adapt to perform the tasks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
✉Corresponding Author: Megan M. Herting, PhD, hertingusc.edu, 323-442-8270

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exercise, Cognition, and the Adolescent Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Few adolescents engage in the recommended levels of physical activity, and daily exercise levels tend to drastically decrease throughout adolescence. Beyond physical health benefits, regular exercise may also have important implications for the…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common type of talk therapy (psychotherapy). You work with a mental health counselor (psychotherapist or therapist) in a structured way, attending a limited number of sessions. CBT helps you become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so you can view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.

CBT can be a very helpful tool - either alone or in combination with other therapies - in treating mental health disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or an eating disorder. But not everyone who benefits from CBT has a mental health condition. CBT can be an effective tool to help anyone learn how to better manage stressful life situations.

Why it's done

Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat a wide range of issues. It's often the preferred type of psychotherapy because it can quickly help you identify and cope with specific challenges. It generally requires fewer sessions than other types of therapy and is done in a structured way.

CBT is a useful tool to address emotional challenges. For example, it may help you:

Manage symptoms of mental illness

Prevent a relapse of mental illness symptoms

Treat a mental illness when medications aren't a good option

Learn techniques for coping with stressful life situations

Identify ways to manage emotions

Resolve relationship conflicts and learn better ways to communicate

Cope with grief or loss

Overcome emotional trauma related to abuse or violence

Cope with a medical illness

Manage chronic physical symptoms

Mental health disorders that may improve with CBT include:

Depression

Anxiety disorders

Phobias

PTSD

Sleep disorders

Eating disorders

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Substance use disorders

Bipolar disorders

Schizophrenia

Sexual disorders

In some cases, CBT is most effective when it's combined with other treatments, such as antidepressants or other medications.

Risks

In general, there's little risk in getting cognitive behavioral therapy. But you may feel emotionally uncomfortable at times. This is because CBT can cause you to explore painful feelings, emotions and experiences. You may cry, get upset or feel angry during a challenging session. You may also feel physically drained.

Some forms of CBT, such as exposure therapy, may require you to confront situations you'd rather avoid - such as airplanes if you have a fear of flying. This can lead to temporary stress or anxiety.

However, working with a skilled therapist will minimize any risks. The coping skills you learn can help you manage and conquer negative feelings and fears.

How you prepare

You might decide on your own that you want to try cognitive behavioral therapy. Or a doctor or someone else may suggest therapy to you. Here's how to get started:

Find a therapist. You can get a referral from a doctor, health insurance plan, friend or other trusted source. Many employers offer counseling services or referrals through employee assistance programs (EAPs). Or you can find a therapist on your own - for instance, through a local or state psychological association or by searching the internet.

Understand the costs. If you have health insurance, find out what coverage it offers for psychotherapy. Some health plans cover only a certain number of therapy sessions a year. Also, talk to your therapist about fees and payment options.

Review your concerns. Before your first appointment, think about what issues you'd like to work on. While you can also sort this out with your therapist, having some sense in advance may provide a starting point.

Check qualifications

Psychotherapist is a general term, rather than a job title or indication of education, training or licensure. Examples of psychotherapists include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed professional counselors, licensed social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, psychiatric nurses, or other licensed professionals with mental health training.

Before seeing a psychotherapist, check his or her:

Background and education. Trained psychotherapists can have a number of different job titles, depending on their education and role. Most have a master's or doctoral degree with specific training in psychological counseling. Medical doctors who specialize in mental health (psychiatrists) can prescribe medications as well as provide psychotherapy.

Certification and licensing. Make sure that the therapist you choose meets state certification and licensing requirements for his or her particular discipline.

Area of expertise. Ask whether the therapist has expertise and experience treating your symptoms or your area of concern, such as eating disorders or PTSD.

The key is to find a skilled therapist who can match the type and intensity of therapy with your needs.

What you can expect

Cognitive behavioral therapy may be done one-on-one or in groups with family members or with people who have similar issues. Online resources are available that may make participating in CBT possible, especially if you live in an area with few local mental health resources.

CBT often includes:

Learning about your mental health condition

Learning and practicing techniques such as relaxation, coping, resilience, stress management and assertiveness

Your first therapy session

At your first session, your therapist will typically gather information about you and ask what concerns you'd like to work on. The therapist will likely ask you about your current and past physical and emotional health to gain a deeper understanding of your situation. Your therapist may discuss whether you might benefit from other treatment as well, such as medications.

The first session is also an opportunity for you to interview your therapist to see if he or she will be a good match for you. Make sure you understand:

His or her approach

What type of therapy is appropriate for you

The goals of your treatment

The length of each session

How many therapy sessions you may need

It might take a few sessions for your therapist to fully understand your situation and concerns, and to determine the best course of action. If you don't feel comfortable with the first therapist you see, try someone else. Having a good "fit" with your therapist can help you get the most benefit from CBT.

During CBT

Your therapist will encourage you to talk about your thoughts and feelings and what's troubling you. Don't worry if you find it hard to open up about your feelings. Your therapist can help you gain more confidence and comfort.

CBT generally focuses on specific problems, using a goal-oriented approach. As you go through the therapy process, your therapist may ask you to do homework - activities, reading or practices that build on what you learn during your regular therapy sessions - and encourage you to apply what you're learning in your daily life.

Your therapist's approach will depend on your particular situation and preferences. Your therapist may combine CBT with another therapeutic approach - for example, interpersonal therapy, which focuses on your relationships with other people.

Steps in CBT

CBT typically includes these steps:

Identify troubling situations or conditions in your life. These may include such issues as a medical condition, divorce, grief, anger or symptoms of a mental health disorder. You and your therapist may spend some time deciding what problems and goals you want to focus on.

Become aware of your thoughts, emotions and beliefs about these problems. Once you've identified the problems to work on, your therapist will encourage you to share your thoughts about them. This may include observing what you tell yourself about an experience (self-talk), your interpretation of the meaning of a situation, and your beliefs about yourself, other people and events. Your therapist may suggest that you keep a journal of your thoughts.

Identify negative or inaccurate thinking. To help you recognize patterns of thinking and behavior that may be contributing to your problem, your therapist may ask you to pay attention to your physical, emotional and behavioral responses in different situations.

Reshape negative or inaccurate thinking. Your therapist will likely encourage you to ask yourself whether your view of a situation is based on fact or on an inaccurate perception of what's going on. This step can be difficult. You may have long-standing ways of thinking about your life and yourself. With practice, helpful thinking and behavior patterns will become a habit and won't take as much effort.

Length of therapy

CBT is generally considered short-term therapy - ranging from about five to 20 sessions. You and your therapist can discuss how many sessions may be right for you. Factors to consider include:

Type of disorder or situation

Severity of your symptoms

How long you've had your symptoms or have been dealing with your situation

How quickly you make progress

How much stress you're experiencing

How much support you receive from family members and other people

Confidentiality

Except in very specific circumstances, conversations with your therapist are confidential. However, a therapist may break confidentiality if there is an immediate threat to safety or when required by state or federal law to report concerns to authorities. These situations include:

Threatening to immediately or soon (imminently) harm yourself or take your own life

Threatening to imminently harm or take the life of another person

Abusing a child or a vulnerable adult - someone over age 18 who is hospitalized or made vulnerable by a disability

Being unable to safely care for yourself

Results

Cognitive behavioral therapy may not cure your condition or make an unpleasant situation go away. But it can give you the power to cope with your situation in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life.

Getting the most out of CBT

CBT isn't effective for everyone. But you can take steps to get the most out of your therapy and help make it a success.

Approach therapy as a partnership. Therapy is most effective when you're an active participant and share in decision-making. Make sure you and your therapist agree about the major issues and how to tackle them. Together, you can set goals and assess progress over time.

Be open and honest. Success with therapy depends on your willingness to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and on being open to new insights and ways of doing things. If you're reluctant to talk about certain things because of painful emotions, embarrassment or fears about your therapist's reaction, let your therapist know about your reservations.

Stick to your treatment plan. If you feel down or lack motivation, it may be tempting to skip therapy sessions. Doing so can disrupt your progress. Attend all sessions and give some thought to what you want to discuss.

Don't expect instant results. Working on emotional issues can be painful and often requires hard work. It's not uncommon to feel worse during the initial part of therapy as you begin to confront past and current conflicts. You may need several sessions before you begin to see improvement.

Do your homework between sessions. If your therapist asks you to read, keep a journal or do other activities outside of your regular therapy sessions, follow through. Doing these homework assignments will help you apply what you've learned in the therapy sessions.

If therapy isn't helping, talk to your therapist. If you don't feel that you're benefiting from CBT after several sessions, talk to your therapist about it. You and your therapist may decide to make some changes or try a different approach.

Clinical trials

Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Becoming aware of inaccurate or negative thinking can help you view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dear Christine: How Do I Motivate My Teen?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bossing them around won’t work forever; we need to help teens manage their own lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
“Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation and Creativity in the Classroom” | Beth Hennessey | TEDxSausalito

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Nexus Academy | Personalized Drug & Alcohol Rehab

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Benefits of Physical Exercise on Teen Mental Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how physical exercise boosts teen mental health by reducing stress, improving mood, and enhancing focus. Learn the key benefits at Nexus Teen Academy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Exercise is an important part of keeping teens healthy. Encouraging healthy lifestyles in children and teens is important for when they grow older. Lifestyles that are learned in childhood are more likely to stay with the child into adulthood. Some changes in lifestyle can be harder to make as a person ages. The best way to promote healthy lifestyles is for the whole family to become involved.

Establishing an exercise plan

A daily exercise program is a fun way to share physical activity with family and friends while helping to establish good heart-healthy habits. The following exercise guidelines for teens can help you and your teen plan activities:

Teenagers need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days to maintain good health and fitness, and for healthy weight during growth. Physical activity should include aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening exercises.

Parents should encourage healthy habits and limit activities that include screen time (TV, video games, cell phones, tablets, and computers). Replace these sitting activities with activities that require more movement.

Even low-to-moderate intensity activities for as little as 30 minutes a day can be helpful. These activities may include the following:

Regular aerobic physical activity increases a teen's capacity for exercise. It also plays a role in the prevention of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Aerobic activities are continuous activities that cause the heart rate and breathing rate to increase. To prevent dehydration, encourage your teen to drink fluid regularly during physical activity. Also, have them drink several glasses of water or other fluid with no added sugar after the physical activity is completed. Examples of vigorous activities may include:

For teens, daily exercise may help prevent conditions such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and abnormal cholesterol levels, as well as poor lifestyle habits that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life.

Exercise on a regular basis is part of a healthy lifestyle. But some teens can exercise too much. If your teen begins losing weight and falls below expected growth patterns, or if exercise interferes with other normal activities, including school, you should talk with your teen's healthcare provider.

Benefits from regular exercise or physical activity

The following are key benefits of physical activity:

Improves blood circulation throughout the body

Keeps weight under control

Improves blood cholesterol levels

Prevents and manages high blood pressure

Prevents bone loss

Boosts energy level

Releases tension

Improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well

Improves self-image

Helps manage stress

Fights anxiety and depression

Increases enthusiasm and optimism

Increases muscle strength

Medical Reviewers:

Dan Brennan MD

Raymond Turley Jr PA-C

Stacey Wojcik MBA BSN RN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Content - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Exercise is an important part of keeping teens healthy. Encouraging healthy lifestyles in children and teens is important for when they grow older. Lifestyles that are learned in childhood are more likely to stay with the child into adulthood. Some changes in lifestyle can be harder to make as a person ages. The best way to promote healthy lifestyles is for the whole family to become involved.

# data[].attributes.body
A curriculum from Harvard for boosting empathy. Depressingly was free but is now something to be paid for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Transform your school into a community where every student knows they belong.

Educators know that great schools provide a caring, connected culture where every student feels cared for-by teachers and staff and by other students.

Easier said than done, though, right?

You've likely got a lot on your plate already. Maybe your school has never prioritized helping students care for each other, grow in empathy, and pursue justice. It's hard to know where to start.

We get it.

We're educators ourselves and we know how hard it can be. And, decades of research partnering with schools has shown us: creating caring schools IS possible.

CARING SCHOOLS PROGRAMS

MCC's Caring Schools Network and Programs gives schools all they need to create caring school communities:

1. Evidence-based lessons and community building practices that work seamlessly within existing programs.

2. A collaborative community of like-minded leaders to share learnings + address challenges.

3. Easy-to-use guides for school leaders, parents, and students to easily implement Caring Schools Programs in their schools.

Join the Caring Schools Network to access all CSN lessons, consultation, and community of support for the 2025-26 school year.

Start a Parents for Caring Schools program at your school to create a K-6 community of parents of students who (with MCC's help) facilitate monthly lessons in your elementary school.

Create a Students for Caring Schools Club to provide lessons, activities, and guidance that empower middle and high students to lead their own community-building projects.

The Caring Schools Network provides K-12 school leaders, counselors, social workers, and educators with the resources and community to enable students to build stronger relationships with each other and with school adults, strengthen their social, emotional, and ethical capacities, reduce bullying and harassment, and support students to succeed academically.

A detailed implementation plan and scope and sequence

A community webinar series where MCC provides guidance and support for all participating educators

A library of community building activities, games, and classroom routines to help build trust and strengthen relationships early in the school year

Over 50 engaging weekly lessons to lead throughout the school year

Two relationship mapping resources to strategically ensure that every student has at least one positive and trusting relationship with a school adult and peer

Parent and caregiver resources to deepen the learning at home

A student survey and report to understand student needs and inform improvement.

Opportunities for students to connect with students from other CSN schools

Parents for Caring Schools prepares parents and caregivers how to teach engaging lessons at your child's elementary school to help create a more caring and connected school and classroom community.

Research shows that parent involvement in school leads to improved student achievement and social-emotional outcomes. For the first time, we are inviting parents and caregivers to learn how to directly lead lessons for students, helping them learn how to treat others with kindness, expand their circle of care, understand their emotions, and feel a stronger sense of belonging at school.
Parents who join will:

Participate in a short monthly webinar from August 2025 - May 2026 where MCC will provide guidance and support on how to:

Work with your school to create a plan for parents to lead one lesson each month

Recruit other parents to join you in this effort

Lead fun and engaging lessons

Receive 10 scripted lessons designed to be led in the classroom by parents

Get guidance on how to organize a Parents for Caring Schools group at your school

What should I do before I sign up?

If you plan to lead these lessons at your child's elementary school, you should request permission from your School Leader before you sign up using the link below. Here is an email that you can use to start the conversations with your School Leader.

If you plan to lead these lessons outside of school, you can sign up now using the link below!

Students for Caring Schools provides middle and high school educators and student leaders with lessons and guidance to create a student-led club that builds stronger relationships and a more connected community throughout a school.

Research shows that when students learn from fellow students, it fosters a deeper understanding of the subject matter and a more positive attitude toward the material-for the students leading AND the students that they are teaching.

Students, and any educators supporting them, will be invited to join other students across the country in a series of webinars where MCC will provide guidance on how to create a club, how to recruit students, and how to lead monthly lessons to help improve peer relationships at your school.
Student clubs will receive:

Detailed implementation plan for how to start a Students for Caring Schools club

Engaging scripted lessons and community building activities designed to be led by students

Guidance to organize a Students for Caring Schools club

Five online convenings with MCC to help you prepare to lead these lessons at school

A student relationship survey and survey report to understand the state of peer relationships at your school and inform improvements.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Caring Schools Programs - Making Caring Common

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Transform your school into a community where every student knows they belong. Evidence-based lessons and community building practices that work seamlessly within existing programs. A collaborative community of like-minded leaders to share learnings + address challenges. Easy-to-use guides for school leaders, parents, and students to easily implement Caring Schools Programs in their schools.

# data[].attributes.body
Here is some info on how brain imaging research has developed https://outlook.washu.edu/mysteries-explored/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pioneering neurologist explores the mind’s mysteries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marcus Raichle, MD, opened up the human brain to scientific investigation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Emotional Regulation & Executive Functioning: Understanding The Relationship | Life Skills Advocate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understanding how emotional regulation & executive functioning impact well-being is key to supporting those with executive dysfunction.

# data[].attributes.headline
Long-Term Executive Dysfunction Effects: Depression in Adults

# data[].attributes.subject
Long-Term Executive Dysfunction Effects: Depression in Adults

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Adult depression, undoubtedly associated with executive dysfunction, leads to poor work performance. As depression in adolescents may have a negative impact on school performance, we aimed to analyse the possible relationship between selected executive deficits and academic performance. Executive dysfunctions may have more severe consequences on school performance at high school, as this stage of education requires engagement in long-term goals, whether writing an essay or preparing for an exam. Whilst inhibitory control is necessary at all educational stages, it seems that planning and decision-making play a greater role in high school than in primary school. We reviewed studies on executive functions conducted in adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) to establish the possible relationship between executive processes and school performance in depressed adolescents. The search identified 5 studies addressing planning and decision-making in adolescents with MDD, but none of those studies reported educational achievement. We identified a considerable gap in the research on the functional impact of depression in adolescents. Identifying the link between specific executive deficits and school performance could guide tailored therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: Executive function, Inhibition, Depression, Adolescence, Assessment, Education

Introduction

Depression has a negative impact on school performance in adolescents [ 1], which may be also persistent [ 2]. Whilst executive functions (EF) are crucial components of success in education, being an important area for children and adolescents, EF deficits remain also one of the main manifestations of cognitive impairment in adult depression [ 3]. However, data on executive dysfunction in adolescent depression are not homogenous [ 4]. Unlike in the adult population, the profile of EF deficits in paediatric populations with major depressive disorder (MDD) is inconsistently described in the literature and many studies yield negative results [ 4].

EF as a multi-dimensional construct enable us to prioritise, plan, initiate, maintain and inhibit goal-directed activity, as well as monitor our performance, coordinate the performance of multiple activities, and modify our strategy if it turns out to be ineffective or if we need to respond to changes in our environment [ 5]. Adolescence remains the most important developmental period as far as executive functions are concerned [ 6]. However, executive functions continue to evolve up to early adulthood [ 7]. The prefrontal cortex develops much later than other brain areas [ 6] and any disorder affecting the adolescent brain may disrupt the evolution of executive skills. Thus, executive deficits in depressed adolescents are likely to be the effect of interaction between the pathological and developmental processes. Of note, these developmental processes are by no means unidirectional or strictly parallel as the linear increase in frontal white matter is accompanied by the non-linear decrease in frontal grey matter density [ 7]. The evolution of executive skills in adolescence, especially of hot executive skills, such as affective decision-making, is unlikely to be linear [ 8], which adds further complexity to the study of executive dysfunction in depressed adolescents. The age-related increase in simultaneous activity of the frontal-parietal network is related to the improvement in response inhibition in several studies [ 9]. The relationship between executive function components and educational achievement varies across ages [ 10]. Whilst at the early school age, inhibitory control is of major importance, later, when basic academic skills (reading, writing, calculation) are not sufficient to succeed, e.g. when one has to write essays or study for final exams, the role of planning multi-step activity in educational attainment seems to increase considerably. Self-regulation strategies are important both in the classroom and during individual study time.

The association of EF with academic performance is well documented in the literature [ 11]. Currently, in the era of intensive social media use, it seems that the range of possible distractors has expanded notably, which puts an additional burden on inhibitory processes to ensure that one stays focussed on the selected goal-directed activity such as studying. Studies dating back to previous decades showed that tests of poor inhibitory control may be used as measures of distractibility [ 12]. Of note, the research on the association of EF and academic outcomes focussed mainly on younger children and basic academic skills, such as reading, writing or mathematics, and highlighted especially the role of working memory and inhibition [ 13]. Some aspects of EF seem to be related in particular to performance in some domains (e.g. association of working memory with literacy or the association of problem-solving with advanced mathematics that goes beyond calculation tasks) [ 10], whilst others (e.g. inhibition) contribute substantially to performance in all educational areas [ 14]. As poor educational attainment in adolescents may have serious future consequences in terms of further education pathways or career options and as executive functions develop in adolescence and young adulthood [ 15, 16], we decided to focus on the adolescent population. The complexity of educational challenges after having mastered basic academic skills (e.g. necessity to plan study time and resist social media distractors whilst studying) adds to the broader context of social development, especially creating a balance between family expectations and peer pressure and successful development of autonomy. These simultaneous factors, school, family and peer relationships lead to the necessity to prioritise some tasks over others and re-prioritise them on the ongoing basis. These competing demands of the environment require the engagement of meta-tasking, effective interleaving sub-goals of one task with sub-goals of another task [ 5]. Depressed individuals are supposed to present with features of dysexecutive, apathetic and inappropriate syndromes, whilst the relevance of disorganised syndrome (associated with meta-tasking) in depression is so far unclear [ 5].

In our review, we aim to describe possible relationships between selected aspects of executive functions (inhibitory control and problem-solving) and academic performance in adolescents with depression. We focus both on inhibitory control [ 17] and planning (as an important aspect of problem-solving) as the latter seems to have particular relevance for self-study and preparation for exams in the adolescent population.

First, we aim to identify and analyse all studies in which inhibition and/or problem-solving (planning and/or decision-making) were assessed in depressed adolescents with MDD in comparison to age-matched controls. Second, we would like to analyse which neuropsychological tests were used to assess problem-solving and inhibitory control, as well as other aspects of executive functions, such as e.g. meta-tasking, in depressed adolescents.

Methods

Search strategy

The search was conducted in the Scopus database on 8 August 2022 with the use of the following search terms: ( TITLE-ABS-KEY (plan* OR multi-step OR problem-solving OR multi-task* OR *inhibition OR *shift* OR flexibility OR strategy OR decision) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (adolescent* OR young OR youth OR teen*) AND TITLE (depress*) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (*executive)) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, English")).

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

The following inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied.

Inclusion criteria:

- Original studies with a healthy age-matched control group.

- Participants: 10-19 years (as defined by WHO 2023 [ 18] and/or mean age < 19.

- Diagnosis of depression (major depressive disorder) as defined by ICD-10, DSM-IV or DSM-V [ 19- 21]

- At least 2 executive measures (either performance-based or clinician-rated) including at least one planning or decision-making measure.

- Texts in English.

Exclusion criteria:

- Diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism), eating disorders.

- Drug/alcohol abuse.

- Other significant diseases (somatic diseases e.g. diabetes or cancer), neurological disorders (e.g. epilepsy, head trauma).

- Executive function assessment based only on self-ratings.

The search initially identified 188 documents (see: Fig. 1), amongst which 5 presented the results of studies which met the inclusion criteria for this review and did not meet the exclusion criteria. The studies are listed in Tables 1 and 2.

Fig. 1.

Flowchart detailing the literature search according to PRISMA methodology [ 27]

Results

Our search identified 2 studies performed in the USA [ 22, 23], 2 studies from Australia [ 24, 25] and one UK study [ 26]. The number of participants in the MDD group ranged from 22 [ 23] to 38 [ 25], whilst the number of healthy controls ranged from 30 [ 22] to 65 [ 24]. Additionally, in one American study, there were 22 cases of minor depressive disorder [ 23], and in the newest Australian study, there were also 18 participants with first-episode psychosis [ 25]. The former study also used two control groups: healthy outpatients and inpatients hospitalised because of different reasons. The analysis of those results exceeds the scope of our review, so in Table 1, we report only data from the comparison of MDD patients with the outpatient group of HC.

In terms of age, the included studies covered a total age range from 13 to 25 years [ 24] or satisfied the appropriate mean age [ 22, 25]. In 2 papers, the participants' age range was not explicitly reported [ 23, 26]. Of note, the clinical group was limited to adolescents in 3 studies [ 22, 23, 26] whilst in 2 remaining studies, young adults were also included [ 24, 25]. It is important as the development of frontal areas subserving executive functions continues till early adulthood [ 28]. However, as the age range is wide, as far as the adolescent population is concerned, quantitative scores could not be used for meta-analysis. As our search enabled us to identify only 5 papers, we decided to report the results of the studies that included also young adults.

The criteria used to diagnose MDD were not fully consistent across analysed studies. None of the studies used ICD-10 criteria. In 3 studies, DSM-IV criteria were applied [ 22, 23, 26], in one, DSM-IV-TR was used [ 24], and in the newest study, MDD was diagnosed in line with DSM-V [ 25]. However, the core clinical criteria for a depressive episode, as they are all derived from DSM classifications, are consistent both in terms of the number of symptoms required for a clinical diagnosis and the type of symptoms included. The only differences affect differential diagnosis with mixed episodes [ 19] or the impact of other states, such as bereavement [ 20, 21].

None of the studies reported quantitative educational achievement results (see: Table 2). In 2 studies, no data on the education level was provided [ 23, 26]. Healthy controls were not matched to MDD participants in terms of intelligence. In one of the studies, the clinical group had significantly lower intelligence than healthy controls (HC) [ 22]. In one study, IQ below 70 [ 26] or an estimate of IQ < 80 [ 22] was used as an exclusion criterion.

In one of the papers, exclusion criteria were not provided at all [ 25]. In terms of comorbidities reported as exclusionary, the following disorders are mentioned: bipolar disorder in 2 studies [ 22, 23], psychotic disorder and/or schizophrenia in 3 studies [ 22- 24]; current or recent substance use in two studies [ 22, 24], eating disorder in 1 study [ 22], autism spectrum disorder in 1 study [ 22], a (neuro)developmental disorder in 1 study [ 24] and known neurological and/or significant medical disorder in 2 studies [ 22, 24]. As far as comorbidities reported in MDD groups are concerned, anxiety disorders were the most common [ 22, 23, 26]. Cases with comorbid attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were included in 3 studies [ 22, 23, 26]. Of note, two studies did not describe any comorbidities in the MDD group [ 24, 25]. Interestingly, none of the studies reported information on non-pharmacological interventions such as psychotherapy. Medication was described in only 2 studies [ 22, 26]. The most common pharmacological treatment was antidepressant medication (SSRI). In one of the studies [ 22], the patients received stimulants, which may influence executive function [ 29].

Methodology of executive function assessment

As depicted in Table 2, none of the studies assessed all aspects of executive functions. However, 4 out of 5 studies used more than 2 executive tests [ 22- 26]. Of note, none of the studies reported an assessment of meta-tasking, which seems a very important ecologically valid aspect of executive assessment [ 5].

Problem-solving assessment

The methods of planning and decision-making assessment were very heterogeneous. Planning was assessed in only 2 studies [ 23, 24], and only in one of them, standardised scoring is reported. Baune et al. [ 24] used one of the most popular tests to assess planning-Tower of London (TOL) [ 24]. In the second study, reporting planning assessment only a composite score is described, encompassing data from Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test score (WCST Categories completed) [ 23]. In terms of decision-making, three different tasks were used: Mac Cat [ 25], The Decision-Making Task [ 26] and The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) [ 22]. The last study is the only one which used a decision-making task engaging hot executive functions.

Inhibitory control assessment

Inhibitory control was assessed in 3 studies and each of them used a different methodology. Han et al. [ 22] used 2 tasks ANT, The emotional go/no-go task to address inhibition [ 22]. Holler reported only a composite score based on Stroop Color-Word and WCST Failure to Maintain Set (WCST FMS) [ 23] whilst Kyte et al. used only one experimental affective go/no-go task [ 26].

Problem-solving in adolescents with MDD

No differences between adolescents with MDD and HC were shown in terms of planning in any of the 2 studies, regardless of methodology [ 23, 24]. As far as the quality of the decision-making is concerned, a clear-cut deficit was not identified either by Killey et al. [ 25] or Kyte et al. [ 26]. Whilst poor risk adjustment was evidenced by Kyte et al. in The Decision-Making Task, it was not shown in the IGT [ 26].

Inhibitory control in adolescents with MDD

The pattern of results in terms of inhibitory control is inconsistent across studies. In the study by Han et al. [ 22], only 1 out of 3 inhibitory control tests evidenced worse performance in individuals with MDD. Holler et al. [ 23] and Kyte et al. [ 26] did not document deficient performance in the MDD group and only qualitative differences were present in an experimental task requiring emotional processing.

Academic performance and intelligence

In only one study, academic achievement was assessed with The Wide-Range Achievement Test-4 (WRAT-4) word reading subtest [ 25]. In the same study, decisional capacity was unrelated to education level. Intelligence tests were used in only two studies, either in full format [ 26] or a shortened one to provide an estimate of IQ [ 22]. The latter study group with MDD scored lower on the intelligence test.

Academic performance in relation to selected executive processes in adolescents with MDD

Educational attainment in terms of exam results or final grades is not reported in any of the reviewed studies. In the Australian studies, groups were either not matched in terms of education level [ 24] or data on matching the groups is not reported [ 25].

Summing up, the relationship between educational attainment and problem-solving and inhibitory control in adolescents with MDD cannot be established on the basis of the existing literature.

Discussion

We conducted a systematic review of EF in terms of problem-solving and inhibitory control in adolescents with MDD in the context of educational achievement. We wanted to narrow our literature analysis to the adolescent subgroup, allowing studies with young adults but not with young children, because of two reasons. First, frontal structural connectivity, underpinning executive functions, develops dynamically between adolescence and early adulthood [ 30]. Second, as educational attainment in adolescence may rely more on the effective performance of multi-step goal-directed activities and not only on inhibition, we aimed to focus on planning, decision-making and meta-tasking. Surprisingly, the topic has not received sufficient attention in the literature.

The applied search strategy identified only 5 studies, published between 2005 and 2022. Many studies were excluded as they did not focus on adolescents but on younger children. Very few studies included the adolescent population exclusively, most often this age group was mixed either with children or young adults.

Unfortunately, none of the studies reported data on educational attainment which, from our perspective, seem to be particularly significant information. This problem requires further study as in adolescence school performance is highly important. What's more, this lack of data on the effect of depression in adolescents on school performance contrasts with the literature on work performance in adult depression. The severity of depression in adults is related to a decrement in work performance and symptom relief does not fully eliminate the adverse work outcome of depression [ 31]. In children aged 8-12 years, depressive symptoms are associated with poorer school performance [ 32]. In medical students, fewer depressive symptoms are associated with higher college grade-point [ 33]. As far as the adolescent population is concerned, in those aged 14-18, lower grades are related to more depressive symptoms [ 34, 35]. Also, self-reported depression symptoms in 7th grade are associated with the increased risk of dropping out of school in later adolescence [ 36].

It was previously hypothesised in adults that executive performance could moderate the effect of depression on work performance [ 37]. The same effect could be present in adolescents with regard to school performance. Albeit this hypothesis was not confirmed in the adults using self-report executive measures [ 37], it is worth verifying in a study including data on educational attainment and performance-based comprehensive measures of executive function in the adolescent population.

In most of the papers that we analysed, as well as in those previously reviewed by Vilgis et al. [ 4], most of the studies focussed on inhibitory control, whilst very few addressed planning or decision-making. Overall, the pattern of the results is similar to the one reported by Vilgis et al. [ 4].

As in studies reviewed by Vilgis et al. [ 4], results on planning were inconsistent. Whilst deficient planning was not evidenced in one study [ 24], in another one, the results, due to a composite planning/problem-solving [ 23] (based partially on scores from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test that is a test of set-shifting), were inconclusive. Also, no statistically significant differences were observed in terms of planning/problem-solving between individuals with MDD and those with minor depression [ 23].

Vilgis et al. [ 4] identified 3 studies addressing planning, in 2 of which deficits were ascertained. As far as decision-making is concerned, deficits were revealed only in about 15% of depressed patients in one of the studies [ 25] but not in the two remaining studies [ 22, 26]. Of note, decisional capacity in adolescents with MDD was better preserved than in adolescents with first-episode psychosis, as in the latter group problems were observed in 66% of cases.

Inhibitory control assessment also yielded negative results in three studies [ 22, 23, 26], whilst amongst all studies reviewed by Vilgis et al. [ 4], only 3 out of 16 studies provided positive results. As two of those previously reviewed positive studies included children [ 38, 39] whilst our review focussed exclusively on adolescents, inhibitory control deficits may be more likely to present at an earlier age and are not a typical feature of depression in adolescence. This speculation would require confirmation in further research. Of note, inhibitory control was comparable in adolescents with MDD and those with minor depression [ 23]. It is unclear if negative results in terms of inhibitory control are conclusive or not, as in each of the studies different task was used. Two of them used the go/no-go paradigm, whilst in one of them, Stroop interference task was used. Also, one of them used an emotional (hot) task, whilst the other used cognitive (cold) tasks. The neural correlates inhibitory dimensions may dissociate, as was elegantly shown by a meta-analysis of 66 study experiments including 1447 participants [ 40]. The only common area engaged in inhibitory processes overall is the left anterior insula, whilst cognitive inhibition is related to the dorsal frontal inhibitory system and emotional interference engages a ventral inhibitory system. Till now, there is no evidence to confirm either generalised or specific inhibitory deficits in depressed adolescents. However, it seems that cognitive inhibition is particularly worth studying in the context of educational achievement.

Overall, planning and decision-making are not commonly assessed in depressed adolescents, even in studies focussing on executive function. Both the existence and the possible severity of problems in these areas require further study.

As comorbidities were not reported in all analysed studies, the effect of them on executive functioning in depressed adolescents cannot be fully determined. Anxiety disorder and ADHD were amongst the most common comorbid disorders in the studied adolescent populations with depression. Only in one study, the co-occurrence of ADHD was used in the statistical analysis. Holler et al. [ 23] showed that using behavioural disorder and ADHD diagnoses as covariates did not modify the pattern of results. Of note, inattention as a symptom of ADHD may predict the later development of depression in children [ 41].

As depression is frequently accompanied by anxiety disorders, further research is needed to fully understand the relevance of rumination, coping strategies, motivation and locus of control, self-efficacy, personality traits (e.g. perfectionism) and psychosocial variables for academic performance in adolescents with depression. Interestingly, previous research indicated that in early adolescence, rumination affects sustained attention. Rumination predicted better-sustained attention in those with low levels of depressive symptoms and worse-sustained attention in those with high levels of depressive symptoms [ 42]. Depressive symptoms are related to avoidant coping strategies in young adults and depressive symptoms remain the main predictor of coping strategies in this cohort [ 43]. It can be hypothesised that the same association is present in younger individuals.

The relationship between perfectionism, as a personality trait, depressive symptoms and academic achievement seems worth further study in the context of executive skills. Stoeber & Rambow [ 44] showed that whilst striving for perfection is related to academic success in adolescent school students and negative reactions to imperfections are likely to undermine motivation. Of note, when the effect of negative reactions was controlled for, perfectionism was negatively related to depressive symptoms. It would be interesting to find out, if executive function, especially set-shifting could moderate these relationships.

When it comes to self-efficacy in depressed adolescents, self-efficacy is inversely related to depression as a general phenomenon [ 35, 45], but this relationship was not confirmed for academic self-efficacy [ 45].

Also, it was shown that adult attachment style in students is an important factor modulating academic performance [ 46]. It can be hypothesised that this factor may be of even more importance at the earlier stages of development-e.g. early adolescence.

Summing up, it seems that a comprehensive study on the relationship between executive function and educational achievement should encompass not only the performance-based measures of very well-defined executive skills but also questionnaires and structured/semi-structured interviews focussing on coping strategies, motivation and self-efficacy and perfectionism, as they are also likely to be related to educational success, especially when long-term engagement in exam preparation is required.

Conclusion

The review identified a considerable gap in the research on the functional impact of depression in adolescents. The existing literature does not allow us to confirm the relationship between executive functioning and academic performance in adolescents with MDD. Further studies, focussing on planning, decision-making and meta-tasking, including data on educational attainment and psychosocial variables in adolescents with MDD are needed. Identifying the link between specific executive deficits, personality traits and coping strategies and school performance could guide tailored therapeutic interventions. By recognising this problem at an early stage of diagnosis, clinicians could modify their interventions/protocols, paying more attention to the, so far, unrecognised area of functioning of adolescents diagnosed with depression.

Author contributions

J.U-G., E.J.S. and M.W. planned the paper and search strategy. J.U-G. and E.J.S. performed the literature search and wrote the initial draft. J.U-G. prepared tables and figure. M.W. revised the manuscript draft and contributed to the discussion. All authors reviewed the manuscript and prepared the corrected version of the paper following the reviewers' comments.

Declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

5. Suchy Y. Executive functioning: a comprehensive guide for clinical practice. New York: Oxford University Press; 2016. [Google Scholar]

18. Adolescent health. [Internet].World Health Organisation [Cited 2023 Jul 11]. https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health

19. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2016) DSM-5 Changes: Implications for Child Serious Emotional Disturbance [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US). [PubMed]

32. Orgilés M, Gómez M, Piqueras JA, Espada JP. Relations between school performance and depressive symptoms in Spanish children. Electron J Res Educ Psychol. 2014;12(2):447-460. [Google Scholar]

Articles from European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of Springer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is there sufficient evidence for the association between executive dysfunction and academic performance in adolescents with major depressive disorder?: a systematic review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Adult depression, undoubtedly associated with executive dysfunction, leads to poor work performance. As depression in adolescents may have a negative impact on school performance, we aimed to analyse the possible relationship between selected ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Long-Term Executive Dysfunction Effects: Homeless Population

# data[].attributes.subject
Long-Term Executive Dysfunction Effects: Homeless Population

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Executive functions in homeless young people: Working memory impacts on short-term housing outcomes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most homeless young people have experienced multiple adversities, with potential implications for the development of Executive Functions (EFs), higher-order cognitive processes important for adapta…

# data[].attributes.headline
Long-Term Effects of Executive Dysfunction: A Look at Prison Population

# data[].attributes.subject
Long-Term Effects of Executive Dysfunction: A Look at Prison Population

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prison brain? Executive dysfunction in prisoners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A better understanding of the functioning of the brain, particularly executive functions, of the prison population could aid in reducing crime rates through the reduction of recidivism rates. Indeed, reoffending appears to be related to executive…

# data[].attributes.body
It is interesting to look at potential long-term effects of executive dysfunction and what is really needed in terms of rehabilitation to decrease recidivism rates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prison brain? Executive dysfunction in prisoners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A better understanding of the functioning of the brain, particularly executive functions, of the prison population could aid in reducing crime rates through the reduction of recidivism rates. Indeed, reoffending appears to be related to executive…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Implementation in Austin ISD Beginning in 2010, SEL implementation began rolling out systems and strategies through AISD’s vertical team structure. A vertical team consists of a high school and its feeder middle and elementary schools. As of 2015–16, all schools in AISD are officially implementing SEL.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We define social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

New to Social and Emotional Learning? Start here (2 min. read).

Think of a young person in your life. What skills will they need to achieve their hopes and dreams?

Chances are, you just named social and emotional skills - like staying motivated, communicating effectively, practicing curiosity, and working with others to solve problems. Social and emotional learning, or SEL, helps develop the skills we need for life.
Hear why students, parents, and educators want SEL in schools. Here are 3 things to know about social and emotional learning:

1. Social and emotional learning is a foundation for many of our most pressing priorities: SEL helps young people - and adults - learn and practice skills that set them up for academic success, fulfilling careers, healthy relationships, and responsible civic engagement.

2. The research is clear: Social and emotional learning in schools leads to positive outcomes, including better academic performance, and decreases in stress and anxiety.

3. There's no one-size-fits-all approach: Social and emotional learning brings families, schools, and communities together to make sure every child has caring relationships and what they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Subscribe now for our expertly curated 3-part email series delivered straight to your inbox. We'll roundup the key facts from our website on SEL is, it matters, and it shows up in schools.

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Intrinsic motivation, or motivation that comes from within oneself, has long been theorized to be related to one's sense of satisfaction that different psychological needs are being fulfilled. After the switch to online learning following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators raised concerns about how to keep students motivated at a time when many of their psychological needs were potentially not being met.

A team of faculty and three students who are now graduates from Worcester State University's psychology program conducted research on this topic, and found that motivational levels were connected to the degree to which students felt certain needs were fulfilled in their online classes. Their work was recently published in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , a quarterly academic journal that is published by the American Psychological Association.

The research paper, Protecting Student Motivation Following COVID-19: The Role of Need Satisfaction in a Period of Prolonged Remote Learning analyzes changes in intrinsic motivation in college students during a semester of online classes. The co-authors include Jacquelyn N. Raftery-Helmer, Kathryn E. Frazier, Colleen J. Sullivan, Nicole M. Rosa, Taylor Hapenny, Erica Hanlon, and Alyson Langhorst.

"We were really curious about coming out of the pandemic in a time when a lot of people were still taking courses in a Zoom format or a hybrid format, and what that now looks like for students in terms of their learning and also their motivation for learning," said Kathryn Frazier, associate professor of psychology at Worcester State University and one of the paper's co-authors.

Their research was informed by self-determination theory, which argues that a person's psychological needs, specifically the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, must be met for them to feel intrinsically motivated.

"It's the leading theory in motivation science. One of the assumptions is that all people have universal needs, and these are psychological needs," said Jacquelyn Raftery-Helmer, associate professor of psychology at Worcester State and lead author of the study.

The sample size consisted of 75 undergraduate students from a mid-sized public university in New England, and the study took place during the spring 2021 semester. The students were enrolled in a mix of synchronous and asynchronous online classes, and more than a third of the participants reported being first-generation college students.

Data was collected through an online survey given to participants twice over the course of the semester, at the midpoint and end of the term. The survey asked students to report their perceived levels of competence, relatedness, and autonomy, overall levels of motivation, and other motivational outcomes.

"What's neat about our study design is that we were able to actually look at change over time," said Raftery-Helmer. "We were able to look at whether or not early experiences in the classroom predicted things later."

The researchers said they were surprised to find that intrinsic motivation did not significantly decrease over time, but instead stayed relatively constant. "We expected to see a lot of decline in motivation across the course of the semester," said Frazier. "We thought motivation would kind of wane over time, but it seemed like in our sample that wasn't true. It was fairly stable."

Students who reported higher levels of competence satisfaction, which suggests a belief that they are capable of succeeding in their classes, reported an increase in interest and enjoyment in their online classes, and a decrease in perceived pressure or tension. Those who reported higher levels of relatedness satisfaction, indicative of a strong personal connection to their classes, reported an increase in general college motivation.

"One of the interesting things that we found was that feeling competent at the beginning of the semester predicted your motivation later in the semester," said Raftery-Helmer.

These findings suggest that there are ways for professors to protect and increase student motivation in their classes by supporting their psychological needs.

"As a faculty member, it was really exciting to see that there are things that I can do in my classroom that can tap into a student's sense of competence or a student's sense of relatedness," said Frazier. "And if I do those things in an effective way, that's going to make my students feel more motivated, it's going to help them with their learning, and it could even help them feel more motivated to continue their education."
Top Photo: Study co-authors Taylor Hapenny '23 and Erica Hanlon '23 presented the team's research on student motivation at the New England Psychological Association's annual conference in October 2022 at WPI while they were both undergraduates. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kathryn Frazier.
Beyond the Classroom

The sun wasn't yet up when five Worcester State nursing students reported for duty at Remote Area Medical's (RAM's) free health clinic in Willimantic, Conn., at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 2. . . .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Psychology researchers explore intrinsic student motivation in new published paper - Worcester State University News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intrinsic motivation, or motivation that comes from within oneself, has long been theorized to be related to one's sense of satisfaction that different psychological needs are being fulfilled. After the switch to online learning following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators raised concerns about how to keep students motivated at a time when many [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teachers can know their content backwards and forwards. They might have put hours into their lesson plans. But if their students aren't motivated, learning won't happen.

Often, childhood experiences may make motivation harder for students, according to a new working paper from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, a multidisciplinary research collaborative housed at Harvard University. The paper takes a look at the machinery of motivation: what's going on in children's brains when they're motivated, and what's holding them back?

The researchers identify two types of motivation: approach motivation, which steers us toward a reward, and avoidance motivation, which prompts us to avoid damage. Ideally, they balance each other out. Approach is foundational to most forms of learning, while avoidance can inhibit higher-level learning by forcing us to fixate on our immediate response to a task, rather than a long-term goal. Ultimately, to survive, we need both, but when they're out of balance, it can lead to impulse-control problems, anxiety, or depression, among other mental health struggles.

Our motivation systems are partially laid out by genetics, but they're also shaped by experiences. High levels of stress and a dearth of positive relationships with adults can affect how children's brains respond to different tasks. Caring adults can help students develop the motivation systems that will serve them well, long into adulthood.

How to Build Healthy Motivation

Elicit curiosity and encourage exploration. Beyond their basic needs, children are intrinsically motivated by exploration, play, mastery, and success - all of which lay the groundwork for meaningful learning. Adults can reinforce these motivations through positive feedback of kids' natural tendencies, rather than tampering these tendencies by dismissing opportunities to explore, or being overly fearful that children will get hurt - fears that can rub off. Caring adults whom children can trust can help them figure out what to actually be afraid of and avoid. Children from more volatile or abusive environments, perhaps lacking that caring adult influence, might become more highly attuned to avoidance and lose interest in healthy exploration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New insights into how motivation works, why it can lag, and what we can do to help students develop it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Emerging Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation: A New Frontier in Self-Determination Research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intrinsic motivation refers to people’s spontaneous tendencies to be curious and interested, to seek out challenges and to exercise and develop their skills and knowledge, even in the absence of operationally separable rewards. Over the past four…

# data[].attributes.headline
The Positive Ripple Effect: How Co-Parenting Benefits Children

# data[].attributes.subject
The Positive Ripple Effect: How Co-Parenting Benefits Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Co-Parenting Benefits Children: A Positive Impact

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Co-parenting: Fostering stability & emotional growth in children.

# data[].attributes.headline
Building a secure parenting base after separation

# data[].attributes.subject
Building a secure parenting base after separation

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding the Impact of Divorce on Children

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding the Impact of Divorce on Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding the Impact of Divorce on Children - Shaheen & Gordon, P.A.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Divorce is a complex and emotionally charged process that can have a significant impact on all parties involved, especially children. As parents navigate the challenging terrain of ending a marriage, it is crucial to recognize and understand the potential effects of divorce on children. Throughout the process, it is imperative…

# data[].attributes.headline
What’s Better for Kids: Staying in an Unhappy Marriage or Divorce?

# data[].attributes.subject
What’s Better for Kids: Staying in an Unhappy Marriage or Divorce?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When good parents find themselves in bad marriages, they understandably often grapple with what's better for their kids. Should they stay in their marriage, even though it's unhappy, for the kids? In other words, they seek the answer to one critical question: what is better for their children - staying in an unhappy marriage, or divorce? In this article, we'll review the research and dive into the pros and cons of staying together or splitting up and how to prioritize children, no matter your decision.

Staying together can provide children stability and security, maintaining their familiar routines and relationships. On the other hand, studies show that staying in an unhealthy or unhappy marriage can adversely affect the children's emotional well-being.

Divorce, while disruptive in the short term, may offer a healthier and happier environment for the whole family in the long run. It can reduce conflict and provide the opportunity for personal growth and freedom for the parents, which is good for parents and kids alike. Plus, parents who demonstrate the importance of self-care and healthy relationships set their children up to thrive both personally and in their future romantic relationships. Remember, increasing your happiness increases your kids' happiness as well.

By exploring the pros and cons of both options, we aim to help parents make an informed decision that puts the best interests of their children at the forefront. Whether you're navigating the complexities of divorce or considering staying together, this article will equip you with valuable insights to prioritize your children's health and happiness.

The Impact of Divorce on Children

Divorce is undoubtedly a significant life event that can profoundly impact children.

According to Dr. Donna Matthews in Psychology Today: "Children thrive in predictable, secure families with two parents who love them and love each other." Separation can be unsettling and stressful for kids, especially in the short term. They may also struggle with changes in their daily routines and the division of their time between parents.

"Of course, children usually find their parents' separation extremely upsetting, but as this research demonstrates, eventually many come to terms with the situation and adjust to changes in family life," explained Relate counselor Denise Knowles in Divorce Magazine.

As University of Virginia psychology professor and divorce researcher Dr. E. Mavis Hetherington explains in her book Coping With Divorce, Single Parenting, and Remarriage: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective:

"The response to divorce is influenced by the quality of family relations in the predivorce marriage, the circumstances of marital dissolution and the experiences and changes that follow the divorce. It involves an interplay between individual characteristics of parents and children, family relationships, and extra-familial factors, that serve to support or to undermine the well-being of family members as they negotiate the changes and challenges associated with divorce."

In other words, not all children experience the same adverse effects. Factors such as age, temperament, and the level of conflict between parents can influence the impact of divorce on children. So does the way the parents handle the divorce itself and how they support their children through the process.
Read: How to Talk to Your Kids About Divorce
Drawbacks of Staying Together for the Kids

While staying together may seem like the best option for the children, studies show that an unhealthy or unhappy marriage can adversely affect their emotional well-being. Children are perceptive and can sense tension and conflict between their parents, even if it is not explicitly expressed. Witnessing constant arguments, hostility, or even emotional distance can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem in children.

Furthermore, staying in a toxic relationship can create an unhealthy model of relationships for children. They may grow up believing dysfunctional dynamics are normal, which can negatively impact their future relationships. It is essential to consider the long-term emotional and psychological effects on children when deciding whether to stay together.

Dr. Matthews states, "In the long term [] divorce can lead to happier outcomes for children. When parents are arguing or incompatible in a deep and lasting way, divorce can be a relief for children, a chance to breathe healthier air, free of the tensions of an unhappy relationship. When changes in family structure are handled well, children experience a temporary disruption but can achieve long-term resiliency and strength." Counselor Knowles agrees. "There are plenty of steps that separating parents can take to ensure they reduce the negative impact on their children such as working to avoid constant arguing or speaking badly of the other parent in front of the kids."
Read: Options When You're Unhappy in Your Marriage
Importance of Prioritizing Children's Well-Being in Decision-Making

Dr. Matthews explains, "If you are thinking about your children's ability to create happily productive adult lives for themselves, then, the answer is no, [don't remain in an unhappy marriage]. Try your best to make your marriage work, but don't stay in an unhappy relationship only for the sake of your children."

When deciding to divorce or stay together for the kids, it is crucial to prioritize the well-being of the children above all else. This means considering not only their immediate needs but also their long-term development and happiness. It may require setting aside personal desires and evaluating what is truly in the children's best interests.

Open and honest communication between parents is vital to meeting the children's needs. Both parents should engage in thoughtful discussions, actively listen to each other's concerns, and work together to create a plan that prioritizes the children. Consulting with professionals, such as therapists or counselors, can provide valuable guidance and support during this decision-making process.

How Do Kids View Their Parents' Divorce Once They're On the Other Side?

Many people deciding whether to divorce or remain married under the theory that staying together is better for the kids find the Resolution poll informative. This poll - out of England and Wales - asked 514 teenagers and young adults between 14 and 22 if they'd rather have their parents divorce than stay together in an unhappy marriage.

The poll on behalf of Resolution - an organization representing 6,500 family lawyers in England and Wales - surveyed 514 youths who had experienced their parents' separation. According to Resolution, 82% of the young people surveyed revealed that divorce was better for the family than staying unhappily married.

How to Decide Whether to Divorce or Stay Together for the Kids

When deciding whether or not to divorce, and you have children, it's important to work with a professional to determine whether you want to repair your relationship with your spouse. As you work with your therapist to decide whether to stay or go, remember that children should not play a role in their parents' divorce decision-making process. This is a decision for adults to make.

If you choose not to work on the marriage, your next step is to do everything possible to set the stage for a smooth, child-centered divorce. Meet with a divorce attorney to understand more about your divorce options.

On the other hand, if you want to work on your marriage, the next question is whether your spouse wants to. If you're both willing to try, embrace counseling, delve into enlightening books, seek counsel from trusted friends and confidants, and dedicate yourselves to trying to reconcile. A thriving marriage unequivocally benefits children.

That said, it's essential to recognize that staying together "for the sake of the children" is not an infallible solution. Living with parents in an unhappy union can be more detrimental than stabilizing for kids. Your marriage will serve as a blueprint for your children, shaping their perceptions of relationships, what it means to be a spouse, and how to navigate the complexities of relationship conflicts.

Children are keenly aware of the tension between their parents. Over time, through the subtle yet consistent messages conveyed in their daily lives, your children internalize and replicate these patterns. Thus, there is no escaping the profound impact of your actions on their future relationships.

More From the Experts

The good news is that if you decide to divorce, by committing to having a good divorce where you put kids' needs first, they will come out just fine. As the editors of Parents Magazine wrote:

" In other words, it is not necessarily divorce itself that determines whether or not your kids will be ok, but rather how each adult behaves during and after the divorce. Remember, divorce is not an isolated event - it unfolds over many years. Parents who can remain civil, avoid bad-mouthing and blaming each other, work together to create unified parenting strategies and give their children consistent time, attention and reassurance have a very good chance of seeing their kids grow up just as happy and healthy as those of healthy intact couples."

Helping Children Navigate Divorce

In essence, it is not the divorce itself that determines the well-being of your children but rather the conduct of each adult during and after the divorce.

First, keep your divorce amicable. Remember that your former spouse will be your co-parent for the rest of your lives. Divorce approaches like mediation and collaborative law are designed to support you and your co-parent in this goal.

By fostering an environment of understanding and cooperation, you can pave the way for your children to navigate not just your divorce but also the complexities of their own lives and relationships with resilience and grace.

Open and age-appropriate communication is critical for children to understand the changes happening in their families. Kids shouldn't be involved in their parents' decision whether to divorce - that's for adults. But they can be involved in certain age-appropriate choices during the divorce. For younger children, this might include helping pick out the theme for their new bedroom. Above all, children should not be put in a position that forces them to pick one parent above the other. Children overwhelmingly agree with this point. 88% of those interviewed in the Resolve survey agreed it was important to ensure children do not feel like they must choose between parents.

Ultimately, reassurance of love and support from both parents helps alleviate their fears and anxieties. Maintaining consistent routines and providing a stable environment can also help children feel secure during times of transition. Creating a safe space where they can express their feelings and emotions without judgment is essential. It can also be beneficial to engage in activities that promote their emotional well-being, such as therapy or extracurricular activities.

According to Parents Magazine: "Ultimately, the bottom line is this: unhappy parents do not tend to raise happy children. And unhealthy relationships that 'stay together for the kids' when the marriage is destructive tend to produce children who have unhealthy relationships as adults."

Deciding between divorce or staying together for the kids is a deeply personal and complex choice. While staying together can offer stability, divorce can provide a healthier and happier environment in the long run. Kids can thrive in either scenario, but how parents handle the divorce is key. Ultimately, by prioritizing their children and making informed choices, parents can lay the foundation for their children's health and happiness for years to come.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Better for Kids: Staying in an Unhappy Marriage or Divorce?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pros and cons for children of divorce or staying together, highlighting the impact on kids and, the benefits and drawbacks of each.

# data[].attributes.headline
Children's responses and adjustment to parental separation and divorce

# data[].attributes.subject
Children's responses and adjustment to parental separation and divorce

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Children’s Responses and Adjustment to Parental Separation and Divorce - Voice and Support: Programs for Children Experiencing Parental Separation and Divorce

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Department of Justice Canada’s Internet site

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is CBT?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents usually are short-term treatments (i.e., often between six and 20 sessions) that focus on teaching youth and/or their parents specific skills. CBT differs from other therapy approaches by focusing on the ways that a child or adolescent's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, and how they each affect one another. Because emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are all linked, CBT approaches allow for therapists to intervene at various points in the cycle.

These treatments have been proven to be effective in treating many psychological disorders among children and adolescents, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), behavior problems, and substance abuse.

There are differences between cognitive therapies and behavioral therapies for young people. However, both approaches have much in common, such as:

The therapist and child or adolescent develop goals for therapy together, often in close collaboration with parents, and track progress toward goals throughout the course of treatment.

The therapist and client work together with a mutual understanding that the therapist has theoretical and technical expertise, but the client is the expert on him-or herself.

The therapist seeks to help the client discover that he/she is powerful and capable of choosing positive thoughts and behaviors.

Treatment is often short-term. Clients actively participate in treatment in and out of session. Homework assignments often are included in therapy. The skills that are taught in these therapies require practice.

Treatment is goal-oriented to resolve present-day problems. Therapy involves working step-by-step to achieve goals.

Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Individual CBT
Individual cognitive behavioral therapy focuses solely on the child or adolescent and includes one therapist who teaches the child or adolescent the skills needed to overcome his/her challenges. This form of CBT has been proven effective in the treatment of child and adolescent depression and anxiety disorders, as well as substance abuse in adolescents.
Source(s): Daniel J. Tomasulo (2010). What is the difference between individual and group therapy? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-crowd/201012/what-is-the-difference-between-individual-and-group-therapy Graeme Whitfield (2010). Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. Vol. 16 Issue 3, 219-227. http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/16/3/219
Charmaine K. Higa-McMillan, Sarah E. Francis, Leslie Rith-Najarian, & Bruce F. Chorpita (2015). Evidence Based Update: 50 Years of Research on Treatment for Children and Adolescent Anxiety. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Vol. 45 Issue 2, 91-113.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15374416.2015.1046177
Aaron Hogue, Craig E. Henderson, Timothy J. Ozechowski, & Michael S. Robbins (2014). Evidence Base on Outpatient Behavioral Treatment Adolescent Substance Use: Updates and Recommendations 2007-2013. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Vol. 43 Issue 5, 695-720. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.915550 Myra Altman & Denise E. Wilfrey (2014). Evidence Update on the Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Vol. 44 Issue 4, 521-537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.963854 Kendall, P.C. (2016). Child and Adolescent Therapy, Fourth Edition. New York: Guilford. http://www.guilford.com/books/Child-and-Adolescent-Therapy/Philip-Kendall/9781606235614/reviews

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Effective Child Therapy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents usually are short-term treatments (i.e., often between six and 20 sessions) that focus on teaching youth and/or their parents specific skills. CBT differs from other therapy approaches by focusing on the ways that a child or adolescent's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, and how they each affect one another.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CBT for Teens: How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teen CBT helps with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, & more. Therapists use CBT to help adolescents shift negative thinking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Children and Adolescents: Challenges and Gaps in Practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since its emergence in the 1960s, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) remains one of the mainstays of psychotherapeutic intervention for different mental health conditions. It is one of the most evidenced-based psychotherapeutic interventions.[1] CBT is used for clients from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and ages.[2,3] Apart from hospitals and clinics, it is also used in schools, vocational programs, and rehabilitation centers among other settings. It has been found beneficial in generalized anxiety,[4] stress,[4] obsessive compulsive disorder,[5,6] phobias,[7] depression,[8] and behavioral problems.[9] Research also suggests fluid use of CBT in individual,[10] couple, and family formats.[11,12] Despite the evidence base of CBT for different mental health conditions, including for children and adolescents, the practice of CBT for the younger population may have several issues.[13] The authors list some of the issues that are encountered while delivering CBT in Indian children and adolescents. The opinion is based on clinical experiences and supported with literature as available.

# data[].attributes.headline
12 Ways to Become a More Authoritative Parent

# data[].attributes.subject
12 Ways to Become a More Authoritative Parent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
12 Ways to Become a More Authoritative Parent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Amy Morin, LCSW at VeryWellMind.com #Parenting #AuthoritativeParent #RaisingResponsibleKids #HoffstetterCounselingThere isn’t a single formula for raising children well. After all, parenting isn’t an exact science. There’s definitely a bit of an art to good parenting.Researchers who examine parenting styles have consistently found authoritative parents raise happier and healthier children who are equipped to face real-world challenges.1 The good news is, everyone has the ability to become a

# data[].attributes.headline
Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement, also partly via self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades

# data[].attributes.subject
Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement, also partly via self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades

# data[].attributes.headline
Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement – A study showing this style boosts grades, self‑efficacy, and motivation 

# data[].attributes.subject
Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement – A study showing this style boosts grades, self‑efficacy, and motivation 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Background

The aim of this prospective study is to examine how parenting style relates to academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents and test the mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades. Potential moderation by demographic factors (age, gender, school type, religion and parents' education) was also examined.

Methods

Students (n = 345) from private and public schools in Mount Lebanon and Beirut area, aged between 15 and 18, participated in a two-wave longitudinal study and completed a self-administered questionnaire based on the I-Change Model assessing socio-demographics (age, gender, school type, parents' education, family structure, religion), socio-cognitive factors (attitude, social norms, self-efficacy, intention), parenting styles and academic achievement. Adolescent were surveyed at two time points, six months apart. A multiple linear regression was carried out to identify baseline factors independently associated with academic achievement 6 months later. Moderation was examined using Hayes's SPSS macro PROCESS. A serial mediation model was employed to test for the sequential mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention between parenting style and academic achievement.

Results

Authoritative parenting was prospectively associated with better academic achievement and higher self-efficacy and intention at 6 months follow up. In addition, self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades were found to mediate the relationship of parenting style to academic achievement. Adolescents who perceive their parents as authoritative are more likely to develop high efficacy beliefs and higher intention and subsequently are more likely to achieve better in school compared to peers of neglectful parents. Socio-demographics did not moderate the effect of parenting on academic achievement.

Conclusion

Authoritative parenting influenced both directly and indirectly the academic achievement of their children. Interventions aiming at improving academic performance of adolescents should also encompass positive parenting style strategies.

Introduction

Good academic achievement increases the chances for a successful future for both individuals and societies [ 1, 2]. Addressing key factors that influence academic performance would help in creating better opportunities for youth and securing a better future in terms of better health and higher quality of life [ 3]. According to Bronfenbrenner ecological model, adolescents' behaviors and outcomes are influenced by various levels of environment [ 4]. The microenvironment is the most immediate environment in which adolescents live, such as the school or home environment, and is considered to have the strongest impact on adolescent development [ 5]. Parents who are part of the home environment may have a direct and indirect influence on their children's outcomes via their parenting styles [ 6]. Parenting style is the emotional context in which parents' behaviors are expressed in the effort to socialize their child [ 7]. Four parenting styles can be defined based on the combination of two dimensions of parenting behavior-demandingness and responsiveness: authoritative parenting (high on demandingness and responsiveness), authoritarian (high on demandingness and low on responsiveness), permissive (high on responsiveness and low on demandingness) and neglectful (low on demandingness and responsiveness) [ 8, 9].

Parenting style influence on academic achievement and the role of social cognitions-literature review

Parenting styles have been found to significantly influence several child outcomes among which eating behaviors [ 10], substance use [ 11], psychological outcome [ 12] and educational outcome [ 13]. In regard to academic performance, and while findings may vary across cultures and social groups [ 14, 15], authoritative parenting has been generally found to have the most positive outcomes and promote higher academic achievement [ 16- 18] while neglectful parenting has been consistently linked with the poorest outcomes and lower grades [ 19]. Evidence also exists on the indirect effect of parenting on adolescent's achievement [ 20, 21] pointing to a dual influence of parents both direct and indirect. The family environment is assumed to influence behavior both directly as well as indirectly through mediating variables such as cognitive mediators reflecting a dual process view [ 22- 24]. The dual process suggests that environmental factors, in this case parents, can have a direct automatic influence on behavior and an indirect mediated effect via behavior-specific cognition [ 24]. According to social cognitions theories, attitude, subjective norm and perceived self-efficacy are the central cognitions that are believed to influence behavioral intention which is considered the primary determinant of behavior [ 25, 26]. Intention reflects the motivation and intent to perform a given behavior and is determined by three constructs; Attitude refers to the perceived pros and cons of a certain behavior, social norms indicates the perceived social pressure to engage or not in a given behavior and self-efficacy refers to the belief in one's capabilities to execute specific behaviors to produce positive outcomes [ 25, 27]. The more favorable the attitude, perceived social norms and efficacy beliefs, the strongest the intention to engage in the behavior in question [ 25]. Another construct that is believed to influence intentional behavior is motivation [ 28]. Motivation explains why individuals decide to do something, how hard they would work to achieve it and how long they would persevere to sustain it [ 29]. According to the Self-Determination Theory, motivation which can be intrinsic (emerging from personal interest) or extrinsic (prompted by external force and social values) can determine the strength of intentional behavior [ 29, 30]. Autonomous intentions that are driven by intrinsic motivation are more likely to be translated into behavior and more likely to be sustained than controlled intentions [ 28]. Parenting style can impact academic performance through its influence on social-cognitive factors. For instance, a certain parenting style may promote positive attitudes toward education or a higher academic self-efficacy which will influence the intention to obtain good grades and subsequently impact academic outcome. Indeed, many studies have demonstrated that parenting styles can help foster the development of healthy psychosocial competencies which in turn affect scholastic performance [ 17, 31, 32]. Adolescents from authoritative parents were found to have higher self-efficacy beliefs compared to adolescents from authoritarian and permissive parents [ 18, 33]. Adolescents' achievement beliefs can influence their achievement-related behaviors [ 34], adolescent with high beliefs are more motivated, set higher challenging academic goals, put more effort working towards those goals and are more resilient in the face of difficulties and subsequently perform higher [ 35- 37].

Gap-building on previous research

Several studies describe the relation of parenting on academic outcome of their offspring [ 15, 17, 38, 39], including the role of socio-cognitive factors on academic performance [ 40, 41]. Even though there are many studies on the dual influence of the environment on general behaviors such as health behaviors [ 42], research examining the dual effect of parenting, the direct and indirect effect through the mediating effect of cognitive factors on academic performance is limited. Hence, our study aims to further elucidate the mechanism by which parenting influence adolescent's achievement using an integrated approach. Gaining insight into the direct relation of parenting to academic achievement and how cognitions may mediate this relation is highly relevant in order to inform targeted intervention development. In addition, there is a need to study the influence of parenting styles in different cultures such as the MENA region and specifically in the Lebanese context where empirical evidence of this kind is lacking. The latter will add to the existing literature and expand our knowledge on parenting socialization in different cultural context. On the other hand, student performance in Lebanon, as measured by international assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has been shown to be significantly lower than other countries and point to a learning gap [ 43]. Lebanese were on average three to four years of school behind peers from other countries. Results also showed that 60% of Lebanese students did not achieve basic proficiency in math, 62% in science and 68% in reading, placing them at high risk of exclusion from secondary school [ 43]. Understanding how parenting style may influence academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents will help practitioners and policymakers understand how to capacitate Lebanese adolescent reach their full academic potential.

Study objectives

Hence, the first objective of this study is to examine if parenting style prospectively influences academic performance of Lebanese adolescents. The second objective is to explore which social-cognitive factor mediates the influence of parenting on academic achievement. In addition, since it has been postulated that parenting may have a differential impact on adolescent outcome depending on socio-demographic characteristics [ 44], the third objective is to investigate whether adolescent age, gender, religion, the type of school they are enrolled in as well as their parent's education might moderate the influence of parenting style on academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents.

Materials and methods

Design

This prospective study was based on a secondary analysis of data from a larger three-wave longitudinal research project investigating the predictors of academic achievement in Lebanese adolescents [ 45]. As part of this project, adolescents aged 15 to 18 from private and public schools completed a survey assessing socio-demographics, lifestyle factors and motivational factors. The students were surveyed at three-point time: time 1 (t1), after six months (t2) and after 12 months (t3). For the present study data from the second (t2) and third wave (t3) of the survey were utilized as parenting style was not assessed at baseline. The predictor variable parenting style was taken at t2, the control variables socio-demographics and the potential mediators socio-cognitive variables were also taken at t2 and the outcome variable academic achievement was taken at t3.

Participants

The baseline sample was a total of 600 adolescents out of which 563 (94%) with valid data, aged 15 to 18, from public and private schools across Beirut and Mount Lebanon area. Participating schools were randomly selected form the Ministry of Education's list. The directors of these schools were approached face-to-face and provided with the study questionnaire and seven (four private and three public) agreed to partake in the study. From these schools, all students enrolled in grade 10 and 11 were invited to participate in the survey. For the current study only participants with complete data set at t2 and t3 were included resulting in a total sample of 345 adolescents (61.27%).

Procedure

After obtaining the school director's consent to conduct the study, trained dietitians visited the schools that agreed to participate and distributed pen-paper survey to all students. The trained dietitians were present at all time in the classroom and read aloud each question with the corresponding answers and were available for any help or clarification. The survey took approximately one hour to be completed. The study questionnaire was reviewed and approved by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki [ 46]. Written informed consent was obtained from all students and their parents prior to participating in the study and ethical approval was obtained from Al Hayat Hospital ethical committee.

Measurements

Demographic factors (t2)

Socio-demographic variables included students' sex (1 = male; 2 = female), age (1 = 15; 2 = 16; 3 = 17; 4 = 18), type of school (1 = public; 2 = private), educational level of parents (1 = low: never went to school & primary school; 2 = medium: complementary & secondary school; 3 = high: technical school & university), family structure (1 = living with both parents; 2 = other arrangements) and religion (0 = Non-Christian, 1 = Christian).

Parenting style (t2)

The Authoritative Parenting Index (API) was used to assess parenting styles [ 47]. The API measures the responsive and demanding dimensions of parenting behavior as perceived by the adolescents. Nine items measured responsiveness (e.g. "She/he listens to what I have to say") and seven items measured demandingness (e.g." She/he has rules that I must follow"). In this study the items were presented once in reference for both parents (e.g. "They make sure I go to bed on time"). Students used a four-point response scale (1 = Not like them, 2 = Sort of like them, 3 = A lot like them and 4 = Just like them) to indicate how well the statements describe their parents' parenting styles with higher scores indicating higher levels of responsiveness and demandingness. The latter yielded two separate scores for each participant, namely responsiveness and demandingness. The final scale scores could range from 9-36 for responsiveness (Cronbach's α = 0.80) and 7-28 for demandingness (Cronbach's α = 0.70). Parenting styles were created using median splits on demandingness and responsiveness. A parent who was rated high on both responsiveness and demandingness (above the median 30 for responsiveness, 16 for demandingness) was categorized as authoritative (N = 107). A parent who was rated low on both responsiveness and demandingness (below the median) was categorized as neglectful (N = 66). A parent who was rated high in responsiveness and low in demandingness was categorized as permissive (N = 68). A parent rated as low on responsiveness and low in demandingness was categorized as authoritarian (N = 100).

Socio-cognitive factors (t2)

The I-Change model [ 26] was used as a framework for including socio-cognitive variables as determinants and potential mediators for academic achievement. Attitude was measured with four questions assessing the pros and cons of getting good grades. Two questions measured positive attitudes "Getting good academic grades is a good help for getting a good job/will get me compliment from my parents". The responses were coded from- 2 (strongly disagree) to +2 (strongly agree). Two questions measured negative attitudes "Getting good academic grades means that I have to work too hard/will cause disapproval among my friends" using the same scale reverse coded from +2 (strongly agree) to -2 (strongly disagree) so that higher scores reflect a more positive attitude towards getting good grade.

Social norms were measured using the responses to three questions asking if parents or teacher expect adolescents to get good academic grades "My father/my mother/my teacher expects me to get good academic grades" on a five-point Likert scale ranging from +2 (strongly agree) to -2 (strongly disagree).

Self-efficacy was assessed using responses to five questions "I find it easy to get good academic grades/to concentrate at school for getting good academic grades/to master the skills that are taught in class this year/to concentrate on school work when I am at home/to finish all my school work" on a scale ranging from +2 (strongly agree) to -2 (strongly disagree). A mean score for self-efficacy was composed (Cronbach's α = 0.68).

Intention to get good academic grades was measured by using the response to one statement as it is done with most studies [ 10, 48], 'I intend to get good academic grades' on a five-point Likert scale from +2 (strongly agree) to -2 (strongly disagree).

Academic performance (t3)

Academic achievement was measured using student's general average of the student's self-reported performance in all school subjects during a specific semester. The general average is the standard instrument for the assessment of the academic achievement of students in Lebanese schools [ 49]. All participating schools use a 0-20 scale where the passing grade is 10 out of 20.

Statistical analysis

All analyses were done using SPSS, version 23 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois) and statistical significance was set at a p value < 0.05. Data management and cleaning was carried out prior to analysis and revealed that less than 1% of values were missing. Data were presented as means and standard deviations for continuous variables whereas, categorical data were presented as frequencies and percentages.

In order to analyze the first objective, to examine whether parenting style is associated with academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents, bivariate and multivariate analysis were conducted. Bivariate analyses examining the association between academic performance and other continuous variables were carried out using Pearson or Spearman correlation tests. ANOVA test was used for the association between academic achievement and polytomous variables (i.e. parents' educational level and parenting style). Independent T-test was run to determine if there were differences in academic achievement between males and females, Christians and non- Christians, adolescents living with both parents or not, and adolescents from private schools versus public schools. A multivariate linear regression was carried out to identify which factors were independently associated with academic achievement using the Enter method. Variables which obtained p < 0.1 in the bivariate analysis were entered in the model [ 50]. Independent variables were introduced by blocks: Model 1 included parenting styles. Model 2 also contained socio-demographic variables. In model 3 the socio-cognitive variables attitude, social norm-teacher and self-efficacy were added. Finally, in model 4, the variable intention was added. Unstandardized Beta coefficients were then reported with their 95% confidence intervals (CI).

In order to analyze the second objective, to examine whether socio-cognitive factors mediate the effect of parenting style on academic achievement, we conducted the mediation analysis using Hayes's (2013) SPSS macro PROCESS with 95% bias corrected confidence interval (CI) based on 5000 bootstrap samples [ 51]. The indirect effect is considered statistically significant if the CI does not include 0. We first started with a simple mediation model using SPSS macro PROCESS (model 4), evaluating one mediator at a time. Among the four socio-cognitive variables (attitude, social norm, self-efficacy and intention) we only obtained significant mediation for self-efficacy and intention. Significant mediators were then entered into a serial mediation model (SPSS macro PROCESS, model 6) to check for significant sequential mediation. We hypothesized a serial mediation model where parenting style influences self-efficacy which in turn influences intention which impacts on academic achievement ( Fig 1). In all Hayes models, adjustment was made for the following variables: age, type of school, religion, father and mother education. Confounders were chosen based on the results of the multivariate analysis and the models' adequacy or goodness of fit. Unstandardized coefficients and standard errors (SE) of the final model were reported alongside their CIs. Direct and indirect effects (DE and IE) were also shown for the final mediation model.

Fig 1. Research framework.

In order to analyze the third objective, to investigate whether adolescent age, gender, school type, religion and parent's education might moderate the influence of parenting style on academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents, SPSS macro PROCESS model 1 was used. For each potential moderator, four interactions were tested: 1) an interaction with parenting style on academic achievement, 2) an interaction with parenting style on the mediator (socio-cognitive factor), 3) an interaction with the mediator on parenting style, 4) an interaction with the mediator on the sequential mediator. There was no significant interaction with any of the chosen demographic variables.

Results

Description of sample

The study sample consisted of 345 adolescents with a mean age of 16.57± 0.76 years. Of the study participants 53.3% were girls and 65.8% attended private school. The majority of adolescents reported an authoritative (31.4%) or authoritarian parenting style (29.3%), followed by permissive (19.9%) and neglectful (19.4%) ( Table 1).

Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of the sample (N = 345).

Characteristics

Frequency (%)

Male

161 (46.7)

Female

184 (53.3)

Mean (±SD)

16.57± 0.76

Public

118 (34.2)

Private

227 (65.8)

Christian

302 (87.5)

Non-Christian

43 (12.5)

Low

29 (8.9)

Medium

149 (45.7)

High

148 (45.4)

Low

12 (3.6)

Medium

141 (41.8)

High

184 (54.6)

Live with both parents

317 (91.9)

Other arrangements

28 (8.1)

Mean (±SD)

0.69 ± 1.05

Mean (±SD)

1.05 ± 0.87

Mean (±SD)

-0.61 ± 1.02

Mean (±SD)

1.18 ± 0.94

Mean (±SD)

1.02 ± 0.91

Mean (±SD)

1.18 ±0.77

Mean (±SD)

0.61 ± 0.87

Mean (±SD)

0.15 ± 0.65

Mean (±SD)

1.24 ±0.77

Mean (±SD)

12.89 ± 2.13

Range (over 20)

[6.7;18.5]

Neglectful

66 (19.4)

Permissive

68 (19.9)

Authoritarian

100 (29.3)

Authoritative

107 (31.4)

Correlations between academic achievement and parenting styles and socio-demographics: Bivariate analysis

As shown in Table 2, a significantly better academic achievement at t3 was reported for younger adolescents (p = 0.003), those living with both parents (p = 0.035), and adolescents from private schools (p< 0.001). Adolescents whose father (p = 0.001) and mother (p< 0.001) had a high level of education were also significantly more likely to have higher academic achievement at t3. Adolescents with higher reported self-efficacy and with stronger intention at t2 were significantly more likely to have greater academic achievement at t3 (p< 0.001). No significant association of academic achievement with attitude and social norm were found.

Table 2. Correlations between academic achievement and parenting styles and socio-demographics: Bivariate associations.

Variables

Academic Achievement Mean ± SD

Test statistic (df)

p

* Males

12.77 ± 2.25

* Females

13.00 ± 2.02

* Public

11.65 ± 2.02

* Private

13.54 ± 1.89

* Christian

13.02 ± 2.11

* Non-Christian

12.02 ± 2.09

* Low

11.95 ± 1.77

* Medium

12.62 ± 2.23

* High

13.33 ±2.07

* Low

11.72 ± 1.31

* Medium

12.42 ± 2.19

* High

13.36 ±1.99

* Live with both parents

12.96 ± 2.08

* Other arrangements

12.08 ±2.51

* Neglectful

12.56 ± 2.20

* Permissive

12.88 ± 2.20

* Authoritarian

12.69 ± 2.05

* Authoritative

13.31 ± 2.09

Associations between academic achievement and parenting styles and demographics: Multivariate analysis

In model 1, consisting of parenting styles and academic achievement, the results show that parenting style significantly predicted academic achievement of adolescents six months later. Adolescents whose parents are authoritative were significantly more likely to achieve higher academic achievement six months later compared to adolescents of neglectful (β: -0.87; 95% CI -1.55, -0.19), and authoritarian parents (β: -0.62; 95% CI -1.23, -0.01). Model 2, including model 1 and adding demographic variables, showed that age and type of school were statistically significantly associated with academic achievement at t3. Younger adolescents (p = 0.010) and students from private schools (p< 0.001) were significantly more likely to achieve higher. Parenting remained statistically significantly associated with academic performance at t3. Adolescents of authoritative parents were significantly more likely to have higher academic achievement at six months follow-up compared to adolescents of neglectful (β: -1.07; 95% CI -1.69, -0.45), permissive (β: -0.68; 95% CI -1.29, -0.07) and authoritarian parents (β: -0.83; 95% CI -1.39, -0.27). In model 3, adding the socio-cognitive variables attitude, social norm-teacher and self-efficacy to model 2 resulted in the same significant effect of parenting, age and type of school. It also showed that self-efficacy was positively significantly associated with academic achievement at t3 (p< 0.001). Adolescent with higher self-efficacy had an average grade higher by 0.72 relatively to adolescents with lower self-efficacy. In the last model 4, adding the variable intention to model 3, parenting style, age, school type and self-efficacy remained significant and adding intention as a statistically positively significant predictor of achievement six months later (p<0.001) ( Table 3).

Table 3. Associations between academic achievement and parenting styles and demographics: Multivariate analysis.

Variables

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

Model 4

β

95% CI

p

β

95% CI

p

β

95% CI

p

β

95% CI

p

Serial mediation analysis

In the serial mediation model, we postulated that our predictor variable parenting style (X) influences academic achievement (Y) six months later via two mediators: self-efficacy (M1) and intention (M2) sequentially. To demonstrate this, parenting style (Y) should be significantly associated with the first mediator (M1) self-efficacy. In turn, self-efficacy (M1) should be significantly associated with the second mediator (M2) intention and finally intention (M2) should be significantly related to academic achievement (Y). Table 4 shows a series of three regression analysis. In the first regression the goal was to examine if our independent variable parenting style (X) measured at t2 is associated with the first mediator (M1) self-efficacy (t2). The results show that parenting style was statistically significantly associated with self-efficacy. Adolescents of neglectful parents were significantly less likely to have high self-efficacy compared to the reference style authoritative (p = 0.022). The second regression, regressed intention (M2) on both self-efficacy (M1) and parenting style (X). The results show that the first mediator M1 (self-efficacy) was statistically significantly associated with the second mediator M2 (intention), with higher efficacy beliefs predicting higher intention (p <0.001). Additionally, parenting was also statistically significantly associated with intention; adolescents of neglectful parents were significantly less likely to report strong intentions (p = 0.006). The last regression analysis regressed academic achievement (Y) on all antecedent variables: intention (M2), self-efficacy (M1) and parenting (X). The goal was to explore if intention (M2) is associated with academic achievement (Y) six months later. The results show that intention (M2) was significantly associated with achievement (Y). Adolescents with greater intention were significantly more likely to have higher achievement (p< 0.001).

Table 4. Serial mediation modelling linking parenting style and academic achievement (n = 338).

Self-efficacy (Mediator 1)†

Parenting Style

Authoritative (ref)

Intention (Mediator 2)†

Self-efficacy

0.29

0.06

<0.001

0.03

0.08

Parenting style

Authoritative (ref)

Academic achievement (Outcome)†

Intention

0.53

0.14

<0.001

0.26

0.80

Self-efficacy

0.65

0.16

<0.001

0.34

0.96

Parenting style

Authoritative (ref)

The last Table 5, shows the direct effect of parenting style on academic achievement and the three indirect effects: (i) the indirect effect of parenting on achievement through the first mediator self-efficacy (M1), (ii) the indirect effect of parenting on achievement through the second mediator intention (M2) and (iii) the indirect effect of parenting on achievement through the sequence of self-efficacy (M1) and intention (M2). The direct effect of parenting style on the outcome academic achievement is statistically significant (neglectful vs authoritative: DE = -0.73; p = 0.016). In addition, the indirect effect of parenting style (neglectful vs authoritative) on academic performance through the mediator self-efficacy (M1) alone is statistically significant (IE = -0.16; CI = -0.37, -0.002). The second indirect effect of parenting style (neglectful vs authoritative) on academic performance via the second mediator intention (M2) is also statistically significant (IE = -0.18; CI = -0.39, -0.04). Finally, the last indirect effect of parenting style (neglectful vs authoritative) via the sequence of self-efficacy (M1) and intention (M2) leading to academic achievement is statistically significant (IE = -0.04; CI = -0.11, -0.003). Thus, the relationship between parenting style (neglectful vs authoritative) and academic achievement is partially mediated by self-efficacy and intention, sequentially.

Table 5. Direct and indirect effects of parenting style on academic achievement.

Direct effect

Parenting Style

Authoritative (ref)

Indirect effects

Parenting style => Self-efficacy => Academic Achievement

Parenting Style

Authoritative (ref)

Parenting style => Intention => Academic Achievement

Parenting Style

Authoritative (ref)

Parenting style => Self-efficacy => Intention => Academic Achievement

Parenting Style

Authoritative (ref)

Discussion

The first goal of our study was to examine the longitudinal influence of parenting style on academic achievement of adolescents in Lebanon. Secondly, we examined the theoretical mediating role of social cognitive factors in the relationship between parenting style and academic achievement. Thirdly, we examined whether the association between parenting and academic achievement was moderated by age, gender, religion, school type and parents' education. Our findings indicate that parenting styles was prospectively associated with academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents six month later, this influence was partly mediated by self-efficacy and intention to get good grades. Demographic variables did not moderate the effect of parenting style on academic achievement.

The findings of the present research both support and extend those of previous studies. Our results indicate that authoritative parenting promotes higher academic achievement in adolescents compared to neglectful parenting. The positive influence of authoritative parenting is both direct as well as mediated in part through the effect of self-efficacy and intention. The findings are consistent with other studies showing that self-efficacy act as a mediator between parenting and academic achievement [ 18, 32, 52]. In addition, this study brings new insight into the literature by suggesting the sequential and causal pathway of self-efficacy and intention in explaining the relation between parenting and achievement which has not been studied before. The association between parenting style and adolescents' academic achievement was not moderated by age, religion, school type, parents' education or gender of the adolescents. This is in line with previous research indicating that the influence of parenting on school achievement does not depend on parents' educational level [ 53] and that for the most part the influence of parenting styles does not differ across demographic groups [ 54- 56].

Our results from the serial mediation model supports that parenting style significantly influences academic achievement of adolescents both directly and indirectly through proximal cognitive variables. These findings support the dual-process view assumption that the environment-in our case the home environment- may influence behavior directly as well as indirectly through cognitions [ 24]. Our results show that parenting style influences self-efficacy, which in turn influences intention which subsequently influences academic achievement.

When looking at the direct association of parenting on academic performance, our results show that authoritative parenting had the most positive influence on academic achievement compared to all the other styles. This in line with previous research, even though there are some discrepancies in the findings, the majority of studies report a beneficial effect of authoritative parenting on academic outcome of adolescents [ 57, 58] and a negative effect of neglectful parenting [ 19]. Our results indicate that this association is also true for the Lebanese context. Adolescents of neglectful parents were significantly less likely to have high academic achievement than adolescents whose parents are authoritative. Importantly, this association held even after adjusting for socio-demographic and socio-cognitive factors suggesting an independent direct effect of parenting style. The latter implies that parenting programs and interventions aimed at fostering effective and positive parenting is worthwhile considering for improving adolescents' academic achievement regardless the socio-economical background. Moreover, our findings are also in line with previous studies documenting a positive effect of authoritative parenting on school outcomes among younger children [ 59, 60]. Hence, even though with age there may be other social influences such as peer relations, parents continue to largely impact their children's outcomes across adolescence.

Further to the direct effect, our results revealed the indirect mediated effect of parenting on achievement via socio-cognitive factors. Firstly, parenting style was found to significantly directly predict socio-cognitive factors. Adolescents from authoritative parents were more likely to have high academic efficacy beliefs and more likely to have strong intentions towards getting good grades compared to adolescents of neglectful parents. This is in line with previous research showing that authoritative parenting fosters the highest levels of self- efficacy beliefs compared to non-authoritative parenting [ 18, 61]. This positive influence can be explained by the favorable characteristics of the authoritative style that are assumed to contribute to healthy psychosocial development [ 20, 62]. Authoritative parents are supportive and responsive towards their children's need, they foster self-reliance, critical thinking and more positive attitudes towards school [ 62, 63]. Hence adolescents who describe their parents as being authoritative are more likely to develop positive beliefs about their achievement and be successful in their academic life [ 64]. Whereas adolescents from neglectful families were found to adopt maladaptive behaviors and task avoidant strategies which inhibit academic achievement [ 52].

Moreover, socio-cognitive factors were in turn found to be significantly associated with academic achievement. Adolescents with high self-efficacy were more likely to have stronger intention and consequently more likely to perform better compared to their counterparts with lower efficacy beliefs. The latter corroborates previous findings indicating that social cognitive factors are strong determinants of academic success [ 65, 66]. Adolescents who have strong beliefs in their academic capabilities are more motivated, work harder and with greater persistence even in the face of difficulties and consequently are more likely to set higher goals and develop stronger intention to achieve these goals [ 67, 68]. On another note, research also suggests that the more students achieve well academically the more they feel confident and the greater their efficacy beliefs [ 69]. Hence the need for interventions targeting both psychosocial cognitions and academic performance for they are a product of each other. In fact, one of the most influential sources of self-efficacy is mastery experience, past successes enhance efficacy beliefs while experiencing failure lowers it [ 27]. Interventions that induced successful performances were effective in strengthening adolescents' self-efficacy and eventually led to academic improvements [ 70].

In conclusion, our results indicate that authoritative parenting may have a direct positive influence on academic achievement of adolescent as well as indirect influence through psychosocial competencies, namely higher self-efficacy, which influence intention which most likely translate into direct action to get good academic achievement. Our findings suggest the need for interventions aiming at encouraging positive parenting styles and promoting positive relationship with adolescent for enhancing efficacy beliefs which may subsequently result in improved academic achievement. Parenting interventions are considered a promising approach and the recommended strategy for enhancing parent-child relationship [ 71, 72]. Several parenting training programs exist today such as the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program [ 73] and Parent Management Training [ 74]. Those programs are aimed at empowering parents and supporting them to adopt positive parenting techniques, reduce parental stress and strengthen parent-child relationship [ 75]. Consequently, good parent-child relationship and competent parenting may positively influence several child emotional and behavioral outcomes [ 76, 77] among which academic outcomes [ 78].

It is important to note that the association between parenting and achievement was partly mediated by cognitions which implies the presence of other potential mediators, such as context-specific parenting practices which have been found to be significantly linked to academic achievement [ 15, 79]. Positive parenting practices aimed at improving school success such as parental involvement, have been suggested to positively influence academic outcome when occurring under a positive parenting style such as an authoritative home environment [ 80]. Therefore, specific parenting practices may mediate the influence of general parenting style on academic achievement and should be included when examining the relation of general parenting to student's achievement. Another important factor to consider is motivation, prior work has found that motivation prospectively influence academic achievement [ 81] and is influenced by parenting style [ 82]. Hence the importance of examining the moderating or mediating role of motivation in the relation of parenting to intention and academic achievement in future research.

Strength & limitations

To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to prospectively examine the direct and indirect influence of parenting style on academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents. The current research presents new evidence on parenting socialization in the Lebanese culture and highlights the importance of the home environment in influencing Lebanese adolescents school outcomes. In addition, testing both the direct and indirect effect of parenting styles brings new insight in understanding the potential mechanisms by which the family environment influences adolescent academic achievement. An important contribution of this study is the sequential pathway of self-efficacy and intention, as examined by the serial mediation model, that provides a new explanation into the direct and indirect link between parenting style and academic achievement through the mediator effect of self-efficacy and intention. An additional strength of this study is the methodological approach used to test mediation using Hayes's macro PROCESS based on bootstrapping which bypasses the problem of distributional assumption and provides more power in detecting indirect effect even in small samples [ 83].

Nonetheless, a number of limitations of this study need attention. First, due to the fact that grades were self-reported, common response bias cannot be ruled out. However, previous research indicate that self-reported grades are accurate indicators of actual grades and are comparable to academic transcript [ 84, 85]. In addition, our sample was taken from two areas in Lebanon, Beirut the Capital city and Mount Lebanon are. These two regions concentrate the majority of the Lebanese population, including approximately half of the Lebanese students, and are representative of the various religious and socio-demographic societies in Lebanon. However, the sample is not at a national level and, consequently, the findings cannot be generalized to the whole adolescent population in Lebanon. Furthermore, our study examines parenting style in relation to both parents rather than individually and thus we were unable to explore the ways in which mothers and fathers differed in their parenting styles. Future studies examining the parenting styles of the mother and father separately are recommended as the cultural socializing pattern might differ. Finally, our research focused on the more global aspect of parental behavior that is parenting style and did not include behavior-specific parenting practices aimed at directly promoting school achievement. The inclusion of parenting practices is recommended in future research as domain-specific parenting behaviors (such as monitoring school activities) might produce larger effects than general parenting. In addition, examining both parenting styles and parenting practices will enable us to examine how general parenting may moderate the influence of specific parenting practices on academic achievement.

Conclusion

Our findings extend previous evidence on the positive influence of authoritative parenting on academic achievement both directly and indirectly through the mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention and highlight the importance of promoting this style for enhancing academic performances as well as psychosocial well-being among Lebanese adolescents. Future research may incorporate, motivation, peer relations and parenting practices as additional potential mediators as they have been found to be influenced by parenting style and significantly relate to school achievement.

Supporting information

Data Availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting information files.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

References

Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials

Data Availability Statement

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting information files.

Articles from PLoS ONE are provided here courtesy of PLOS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement, also partly via self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The aim of this prospective study is to examine how parenting style relates to academic achievement of Lebanese adolescents and test the mediating effect of self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades. Potential moderation by demographic ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Cult of Pedagogy tips for adding movement 

# data[].attributes.subject
Cult of Pedagogy tips for adding movement 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sponsored by Pear Deck and NewseumED

This page contains Amazon Affiliate and Bookshop.org links. When you make a purchase through these links, Cult of Pedagogy gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. What's the difference between Amazon and Bookshop.org?

If you were to start singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" right now, I bet you'd have a hard time keeping your hands still. That's because most of us who know the song learned it with gestures, and things we learn with physical movement tend to stick.

We can apply that same principle to classroom learning, using movement to enhance learning from preschool all the way through college. Let's take a look at what the research says about movement-based learning, then explore six different ways you can add more movement to your instruction.

The Research on Movement

The concept of "learning styles" has overwhelmingly been labeled a myth by researchers, so attempting to determine which of your students are kinesthetic learners will not be a good use of your time. What is worth your time is using movement when working with all learners, because plenty of research backs that up.

In general, people learn better when information is presented in more than one way (Sankey, Birch, & Gardiner, 2010). In other words, if we take in information through more than one sense, we're more likely to encode it in long-term memory. This would include visual, verbal, and kinesthetic modes of learning.

Specifically, the use of gestures results in more enduring learning than learning without gestures (Cook, Yip, & Goldin-Meadow, S, 2010). So even the addition of a few small hand gestures can have an impact on how well students remember material.

Study after study shows that physical activity activates the brain, improves cognitive function, and is correlated with improved academic performance (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). This means any kind of physical activity, not just movement associated with the material we're learning, can benefit students academically.

Six Ways to Add Movement to Instruction

1. Total Physical Response

Developed for use with second-language learners in the 1960's ( Asher, 1966), Total Physical Response simply has students act out physical gestures to represent vocabulary words. Shown to be highly effective with both children (Singh, 2011) and adults ( Carruthers, 2010), TPR can also be used to help learners remember new vocabulary terms in their native language. In other words, it can be used in any content area, with any student.

This video from the Teacher Toolkit shows Texas teacher Michael Rowland using TPR with his third grade students, who are English learners.

And here is Craig Gaslow, another Texas teacher who teaches AP Human Geography, demonstrating how he uses TPR to teach three different models of diffusion:

https://youtu.be/9HtrVh2Dzzs

Finally, here are Scott Causer's high school students demonstrating a few earth science processes using TPR:

What strategies support learning? Here's high school science using TPR to recall processes in Earth Science -thanks Mr. Causer and team for modeling! @ESMSchoolDist @cultofpedagogy pic.twitter.com/njoAaVdBB9
- Naomi Trivison (@NaomiTrivison) March 30, 2019

2. Tableau/Snapshot

In this strategy, students create a physical "snapshot" with their bodies, a still picture that represents an idea.

This example, demonstrated by 4th grade teacher Stefannie Cundiff, comes from Teacher Toolkit:

Another example is explained in this Slides presentation by Tyler Jacobs, an Idaho-based high school ELA and social studies teacher. Click the image below to view the slideshow in a new window:

3. Simulations

In these, students demonstrate a concept with some kind of motion or interactivity. They could represent non-human components, like in the examples below, or they might actually take on the role of humans in a re-enactment of an event.

The first example comes from the University of British Columbia, where electrical engineering professor Matthew Yedlin has students simulate the difference between linear growth and exponential growth:

The second example, a simulation of the circulatory system, comes from Michelle Cliche, who teaches grades 4 and 5 in London, Ontario, Canada.

Ss learned about the complexity of the circulatory system by acting out delivery of blood through red & blue bean bags. S in middle is ❤️ directing blood flow to different organs. Later, we did this on playground climbers because heart has to pump 'up'. pic.twitter.com/dhzTqRTEOp
- Michelle Cliche (@Clicheteach) March 29, 2019

Finally, here's a different kind of simulation demonstrated by Amy Tepperman, where participants show fractions by placing different body parts on the floor, Twister-style:

An important note about simulations: If you are doing simulations about historical periods or events, proceed with caution. Many, many teachers have ended up traumatizing students with these types of simulations. This article from Learning for Justice explores the topic in depth.

4. Songs with Movement

Songs are another powerful way to teach concepts to students, and if the songs also incorporate movement, even better.

Dan Adler, a 6th grade science teacher in Lawrence, MA, regularly uses songs with physical movements to help his students remember challenging concepts. In this video, students demonstrate "Bodak Particles," a song about phase change sung to an instrumental version of Cardi B's song "Bodak Yellow." (Get a copy of the lyrics here.)

Check out our science scholars rapping about phase changes! pic.twitter.com/uO3sJQubgw
- UP Academy Leonard (@up_leonard) November 8, 2018

5. Virtual and Augmented Reality

The experiences offered by virtual and augmented reality allow students to move around in and interact with virtual objects and spaces in ways that would be difficult if not impossible to pull off in the real world.

Augmented Reality layers digital enhancements on top of objects in the real, physical world. Using a device, like a smartphone, loaded with AR software, users point it at a picture or physical object, and the software brings up some kind of digital element like a 3D animation, text, or a video. ( Pokémon Go is an example of an AR game.)

One set of AR tools that have tremendous learning potential comes from a company called Merge. Their Merge Cube is a handheld cube that can "become" a variety of objects when paired with the Merge Goggles, as shown below:

Virtual Reality immerses the user in a 360-degree environment, a computer-generated simulation, viewable through a VR headset, and allows them to move through and interact with that environment.

One outstanding source for VR experiences is Google Expeditions, which offers tours to over 500 different locations: historical landmarks, national and state parks, underwater sites, and up-close studies of scientific phenomena.

And if you don't find the exact tour you want, you and your students can even create your own expeditions with Google Tour Creator.

6. Brain Breaks

I left this one for the end because it's the easiest to implement. This brain breaks guide from the University of Texas summarizes the research on the connection between movement and academic achievement and offers dozens of ideas for brain breaks that can be put into action immediately.

Brain break videos are super easy to find on YouTube, especially for younger kids. My daughter came home from first grade years ago excited to demonstrate this one for me:

But what about older kids? High school math teacher David Sladkey has written a a book, Energizing Brain Breaks ( Amazon | Bookshop.org), that has ideas for all ages, even middle and high school kids who may not be as comfortable with the Tooty Ta. in this video, students demonstrate a simple toe-tapping brain break:

Tips for Getting Started

Don't overdo it. Attempting to add a movement component to every concept students learn would not only be too time-consuming, it could also get old, shifting from a fun novelty to something that causes students to slump over in their seats and say, Not THAT again!!

Get input from students. When coming up with gestures or movements, you don't have to rely solely on your own brain. Ask students to help you come up with ideas. Involving students in the process will help them remember concepts better and will increase the likelihood that you'll end up with really effective movements.

Know what works for your students. Some of your students may not be comfortable with or physically able to do certain movements, so keep that in mind and make modifications based on ability and need.

Use movement for retrieval practice. Rather than using movement in a single lesson, apply the principles of retrieval practice by repeating the movements in short practice sessions, spacing them out over time, and interleaving concepts with one another.

For younger students, meaningful gestures matter more. While adults learn from both iconic gestures (those that have some meaning in relation to the concept they are connected to) and beat gestures (those that have no inherent meaning but are just tied to particular "beats" in a sentence or phrase), younger children learned more from iconic gestures (So, Sim Chen-Hui, & Low Wei-Shan, 2012). So when working with younger students, try to make the gestures match the concepts in some way.

References

Asher, J. J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. The modern language journal, 53(1), 3-17.

Carruthers, S. W. (2010). The total physical response method and its compatibility to adult ESL-learners. Retrieved from http://tesolteachers.net/t.pdf

Cook, S. W., Yip, T. K., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2010). Gesturing makes memories that last. Journal of memory and language, 63(4), 465-475.

Donnelly, J. E., & Lambourne, K. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity, cognition, and academic achievement. Preventive medicine, 52, S36-S42.

Sankey, M., Birch, D., & Gardiner, M. (2010). Engaging students through multimodal learning environments: The journey continues. In Proceedings ASCILITE 2010: 27th annual conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education: Curriculum, technology and transformation for an unknown future (pp. 852-863). University of Queensland.

Singh, J. P. (2011). Effectiveness of total physical response. Academic Voices: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1, 20-22.

So, W. C., Sim Chen-Hui, C., & Low Wei-Shan, J. (2012). Mnemonic effect of iconic gesture and beat gesture in adults and children: Is meaning in gesture important for memory recall?. Language and Cognitive Processes, 27(5), 665-681.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Physical movement makes learning stick better, and today we're exploring six ways you can add more movement to your classroom.

# data[].attributes.headline
Deterring Juvenile Crime with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

# data[].attributes.subject
Deterring Juvenile Crime with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

# data[].attributes.body
We know that our children are our future, so why are these naive children incarcerated so often? In this TEDx Talk, Brikitta Hairston explores alternative methods to approach juvenile crime by focusing on deterrence trajectories like psychological intervention early in the offending period to reduce recidivism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brikitta Hairston: Deterring Juvenile Crime with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We know that our children are our future, so why are these naive children incarcerated so often? In this TEDx Talk, Brikitta Hairston explores alternative methods to approach juvenile crime by focusing on deterrence trajectories like psychological intervention early in the offending period to reduce recidivism.

# data[].attributes.body
In this talk Dr. Keith Gaynor gives a brief introduction to the CBT ideas and skills that can be helpful in reducing anxiety. This will help people build the capability to protect and develop their own mental health and wellbeing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety | Dr Keith Gaynor | Inspire Hope

# data[].attributes.body
Jennifer Willis describes the powerful link between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as how one strategy in cognitive behavioral therapy, the cognitive reframe, can help improve well-being.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jennifer Willis describes the powerful link between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as how one strategy in cognitive behavioral therapy, the cognitive reframe, can help improve well-being.

# data[].attributes.headline
Physical Activity and Cognition: Inseparable in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Physical Activity and Cognition: Inseparable in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Frontiers | Physical Activity and Cognition: Inseparable in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Traditional education has tended to compartmentalize abstract thought, emotion, and physical activity. However, neuroscientific evidence suggests that these…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's well known that routine physical activity benefits both body and mind. And there are no age limits. Both children and adults can reap big benefits.

Now a study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explores whether certain factors may help to explain the value of daily physical activity for adolescents' mental health.

Researchers from the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands looked at two possible explanations for the link between exercise and good mental health. One was positive self image and the other was winning friends. They surveyed 7,000 Dutch students, ages 11 to 16.

Yale University child psychologist Alan Kazdin, the editor of Clinical Psychological Science, says the findings show just how bountiful the benefits of exercise can be.

"I think it would be too strong to call it an elixir, but it has the broad effects of something like that," he says.

In the survey, researchers found that teenagers who took part in organized sports had a more positive self image and greater self esteem than teens who weren't physically active.

They were simply happier, more grounded and less likely to engage in problematic behavior, "like social withdrawal and anxiety, getting into trouble, aggressive behavior with others," says Kazdin. All these negative behaviors were lower among the teens who exercised. The study also found those students who were on teams had more friends.

Sport psychology coach Greg Chertok says that when it comes to being more confident, the study findings are something of a chicken and egg dilemma.

Does the exercise make teenagers more confident or do more confident teenagers take part in sports?

"I think teenagers who have positive self perceptions are more likely to test their mettle and insert themselves into competitive environments, and to insert themselves into mentally and physically demanding situations," says Chertok.

Now the study doesn't mean every teenager needs to be on a sports team. Exercise in any form, says psychologist Kazdin, is well worth it.

That could be a dance class, jogging or Wii sports. With school budget cuts, though, physical education is often the first thing to go. That's a big mistake, says Kazdin.

"This might be the first class you include in any school curriculum rather than the one you get rid of and you would do it even if you didn't like exercise because we know now that exercise enhances school academic performance," he says.

That, along with the social and emotional benefits found in this study, add up to a strong argument for teenagers to either take part in sports or commit themselves to some form of daily exercise.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's well known that routine physical activity benefits both body and mind. And there are no age limits. Both children and adults can reap big benefits. Now a study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explores whether certain factors may help to explain the value of daily physical activity for adolescents' mental health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
✉Corresponding Author: Megan M. Herting, PhD, hertingusc.edu, 323-442-8270

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exercise, Cognition, and the Adolescent Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Few adolescents engage in the recommended levels of physical activity, and daily exercise levels tend to drastically decrease throughout adolescence. Beyond physical health benefits, regular exercise may also have important implications for the…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Initially, it was a phrase that I didn't think much about because I thought I "sort of knew" what it meant. But as I found myself in classroom situations in which the atmosphere was fraught with tension and misunderstandings with students -- resulting in a less than stellar teaching performance -- I thought about the phrase again and realized that I had more questions than I realized.

My problem with teaching through relationships was pretty straightforward; in my own education, and in my own early teaching practice, teaching was a formal affair, aligned with ideas of conventional professionalism that draw a very clear line between the teacher and the students.

This formal arrangement discourages fraternizing with students in the belief that when the role of teacher, mentor, and guide becomes confused with that of a friend or a buddy, the instructional waters become muddied. The phrase also has a subtext of ickiness that has difficulty distancing itself from scandal and inappropriate behavior.

Defining Teaching Through Relationships

However, teaching through relationships does not encourage this type of fraternizing. Instead, it embeds formal knowledge in the world in which it actually belongs and from which it is born: that of the complex, historical, and social world of being human.

While maintaining the formal relationship between students and teachers, teaching through relationships, when done well, recognizes the human stories of the learners themselves (they are not blank slates), as well as that of the teacher. It is an approach that embraces our complex identities, biographies, and the stories we bring that serve to humanize the subjects we teach.

Making these complexities part of our teaching "mix" helps to expand our knowledge beyond the artificial confines of a particular discipline.

I had to do a lot of self-reflection on why this approach was difficult for me to embrace. During my primary and secondary education, I never had close relationships with teachers, and I never remember teachers having a personal interest in me. (As I write this, I do remember one particular teacher who did take an interest in me, but that is another story and another blog post.)

Getting to know my teachers and my teachers getting to know me as a fellow human traveler was not something that I wished for, so this was fine with me. In retrospect, the relationships and opportunities that I could have had and didn't make me feel a bit regretful.

When I was in college, I did notice -- with some degree of awe and envy -- that some of my friends were able to form close alliances with their professors. At that time of my life, I believed that you had to be brilliant or one of the hip, savvy students who had the chutzpah to see professors as something akin to a mentor and not a remote authority figure. These savvy students went to parties with their professors and were invited to dinner at their homes to meet their families. That wasn't my story.

Yet I could see how much my friends achieved academically by having more than the lectures and books as their sources of instruction. They learned the real knowledge of a discipline, a knowledge that was largely social in nature and that gave them insight into the life of their teacher, and therefore a better understanding of the professional reality, work, gossip, and social constructs that together, along with formal knowledge, create what we call "a discipline."

Teaching through relationships passes the student through that mystical threshold when formal knowledge leads to hidden knowledge. What is hidden is the process of discovery itself and the connections between thought, everyday life, and other seemingly unrelated ideas and disciplines. When students are able to make this connection via "teaching through relationships," they begin to see themselves as co-learners along with their teachers, as well as with the greatest minds in history.

Putting It to Practice

So what is the role the teacher in this scenario? Firstly, it means getting to know the students' learning styles and where they are in terms of their knowledge, abilities, and potential. More importantly, it also means getting to know their interests, personality, and background. For the teacher, this body of knowledge opens up the possibilities of growth and dramatic learning opportunities.

Much of what we know about learning through relationships has its origins in the work of Lev Vygotsky, the child psychologist who asserted that learning is relational, and that language/conversation is central to the relational aspects of learning. Another reason that I admire Vygotsky's work is his emphasis on the role of community and how that facilitates the learning process.

I am also inspired by the philosophy of Martin Buber and his idea that consciousness itself only arises through relationship. Buber understood that the social framework of teaching is fundamental to how we learn and to the development of human culture in general. Buber was an early proponent of the idea that the best way to teach a student is to see him or her not as an "it," but as a whole, complex, and empathetic human being.

The Spoke in the Wheel

My challenges with building relationships in the classroom reached a peak when I found myself in a situation where the students were not very friendly to each other. The silence was not that of students focused on their work, but of the social awkwardness of people not able or willing to bridge a social gap.

The social grease that very often is seen as a distraction was absent, and I realized that the class lacked the social vibe that energizes the classroom. When addressing this problem with colleagues, I was advised that I be "the spoke in the wheel" -- the active agent who built relationships between my students by getting to know them and asking friendly questions about their interests and background.

That also became a way for them to get to know each other. So, in addition to the teacher-student dyad, this opened up a third component of teaching through relationships, that of the students' relationships with each other as friends, colleagues, and co-learners.

Slowing Down

One of the many challenges I had with the social aspects of teaching was that it appeared to be getting in the way of instruction. If I wasn't directly addressing the lesson at hand, but instead talking about Hakim's interest in the ukulele, then I was wasting time. There was always the next lesson to cover and a limited amount of time to get through the curriculum.

I've since learned that taking time to get to know your students will better help communicate the formal aspects of your curriculum. It helps facilitate the possible connections you make. It alerts each student that he or she is seen as another being and, in response, makes them all more attentive. By slowing down and maybe not getting through the entire scope of your curriculum, you create opportunities to go deeper.

This is a topic that I am still exploring every day, and I don't yet have as much insight as I would like, so please share in the comments section below your stories and insights about the relational aspects of learning and teaching.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Importance of Teaching Through Relationships

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Initially, it was a phrase that I didn't think much about because I thought I "sort of knew" what it meant. But as I found myself in classroom situations in which the atmosphere was fraught with tension and misunderstandings with students -- resulting in a less than stellar teaching performance -- I thought about the phrase again and realized that I had more questions than I realized.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept - Journal of Child and Family Studies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Although parenting styles constitute a well-known concept in parenting research, two issues have largely been overlooked in existing studies. In particular, the psychological control dimension has rarely been explicitly modelled and there is limited insight into joint parenting styles that simultaneously characterize maternal and paternal practices and their impact on child development. Using data from a sample of 600 Flemish families raising an 8-to-10 year old child, we identified naturally occurring joint parenting styles. A cluster analysis based on two parenting dimensions (parental support and behavioral control) revealed four congruent parenting styles: an authoritative, positive authoritative, authoritarian and uninvolved parenting style. A subsequent cluster analysis comprising three parenting dimensions (parental support, behavioral and psychological control) yielded similar cluster profiles for the congruent (positive) authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles, while the fourth parenting style was relabeled as a congruent intrusive parenting style. ANOVAs demonstrated that having (positive) authoritative parents associated with the most favorable outcomes, while having authoritarian parents coincided with the least favorable outcomes. Although less pronounced than for the authoritarian style, having intrusive parents also associated with poorer child outcomes. Results demonstrated that accounting for parental psychological control did not yield additional parenting styles, but enhanced our understanding of the pattern among the three parenting dimensions within each parenting style and their association with child outcomes. More similarities than dissimilarities in the parenting of both parents emerged, although adding psychological control slightly enlarged the differences between the scores of mothers and fathers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 4 types of parenting styles: What style is right for you? - Mayo Clinic Press

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore the various parenting styles and find the one that best fits your personality and family dynamic. This comprehensive guide provides answers to frequently asked questions about parenting styles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How PE Can Affect Academic Achievement | Steven Mikael | TEDxYouth@ABPatersonCollege

# data[].attributes.body
SEL- and post pandemic!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Adolescents Need SEL That’s Designed for Them. Here’s What That Looks Like

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Social-emotional learning is too often neglected at the middle and high school levels.

# data[].attributes.body
If you're interested in learning more about Social and Emotional Learning, here is a great podcast with Denise Pope.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Step into the classroom of one of Stanford's most engaging professors as we interview Dr. Denise Pope! Denise discusses the role that stress plays in our students lives, how we can work to decrease that cognitive takeover, and some digestible research we can both learn from and share with our parents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
social and emotional learning with denise pope

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
vrain waves: teaching conversations with minds shaping education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‎Vrain Waves: Teaching Conversations with Minds Shaping Education: Social and Emotional Learning with Denise Pope on Apple Podcasts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Step into the classroom of one of Stanford's most engaging professors as we interview Dr. Denise Pope! Denise discusses the role that stress plays in our students lives, how we can work to decrease that cognitive takeover, and some digestible research we can both learn from and share with our parent...

# data[].attributes.body
Here's a good, short video that explores more about executive function, particularly discussing how individuals with ADHD struggle with many executive function tasks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is Executive Function and Why Do We Need it?

# data[].attributes.body
If you'd like more neuroscience information from the author, listen to this VrainWaves podcast episode about another one of his books, Brain Rules.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We've been waiting for years now for the chance to interview Dr. John Medina: Developmental Molecular Biologist, Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and author of Brain Rules, Brain Rules for Baby, Brain Rules for Aging Well, and Attack of the Teenage Brain, to name a few. Dr. Medina takes time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about Theory of Mind, stress and learning, and some history behind our fancy brains.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
vrain waves: teaching conversations with minds shaping education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‎Vrain Waves: Teaching Conversations with Minds Shaping Education: Dr. John Medina, Brain Rules on Apple Podcasts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We've been waiting for years now for the chance to interview Dr. John Medina: Developmental Molecular Biologist, Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and author of Brain Rules, Brain Rules for Baby, Brain Rules for Aging Well, and Attack of the Teenage Brai...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain [Ratey MD, John J., Hagerman, Eric] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A significant body of work has investigated the effects of acute exercise, defined as a single bout of physical activity, on mood and cognitive functions in humans. Several excellent recent reviews have summarized these findings; however, the…