Structural Determinants of Adolescent Neurodevelopment: A Public Mental Health Perspective

2 Credits.

Examines how adolescent neurodevelopment responds to stress, safety, and environmental context, with a focus on neighborhood and socioeconomic disadvantage. Reviews empirical findings on stress-related neural processes in adolescence and discusses limits of interpretation and risks of biological overreach. Introduces a concise structural lens to distinguish adaptive responses from deficit framings. Emphasizes careful, equity-centered interpretation of neurodevelopmental evidence. Prepares students to evaluate how such findings can be understood, misused, or responsibly applied in youth mental health policy and prevention.