SEASON 4, EPISODE 3: STUDYING WHAT INTERVENTIONS WORK FOR VULNERABLE ADOLESCENTS

In this episode, we interview Dr. Jonathan Tubman, professor of psychology at American University, about his research on effective interventions for vulnerable adolescents. Dr. Tubman, whose interdisciplinary work spans multiple aspects of applied developmental psychology, highlights how adolescent development has transformed historically; whereas  puberty occurred at 17-18 years old in the 1850s, today it takes place as early as 9-10 years old, even though adolescent economic dependence on parents sometimes extends well into the twenties. Our conversation explores how today's adolescents navigate dramatically different social landscapes than previous generations did, including in dating, sexuality, and identity formation. Dr. Tubman discusses his research aimed at developing brief, targeted interventions for vulnerable youth. We explore how LGBTQ+ youth face unique challenges in “coming out“ earlier in life than previous generations. Dr. Tubman describes his findings that intimate partner violence within sexual and gender minority communities tends to affect smaller subsets with multiple co-occurring problems, thus  requiring comprehensive intervention approaches beyond simple safety planning. Throughout, Dr. Tubman emphasizes the importance of person-centered analysis to identify high-risk adolescents and develop effective targeted interventions for them.