ADAPT Lab at Cal Poly

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four teens standing on top of a hill during sunset. text says adapt lab - adolescent decisions and positive trajectories

ADAPT Lab

Adolescent Decisions and Positive Trajectories

The Adolescent Decisions and Positive Trajectories (ADAPT) Lab at Cal Poly is led by Dr. Natasha Duell. The goal of our research is to understand the psychological, social, biological, and cultural factors that influence the decisions teenagers make. Ultimately, we seek to identify the contexts that maximize adolescents’ strengths and lead to adaptive decisions and positive developmental outcomes.

News in the ADAPT Lab:

Lainey Presents International Research Project

[October 2025]

Lab member Lainey presented findings from her research project, Daily School Experiences and Adolescent Emotion Dysregulation in Colombia at Cal Poly’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Poster Symposium. This research was funded in part by the Jacobs Foundation.

The ADAPT Lab takes the Western Psychological Association!

[May 2025]

In May, lab members Jack, Sydney, Rian, and Sami presented posters at WPA. All three projects won WPA Travel Awards!

The ADAPT Lab launches its first Youth Advisory Board!

[March 2025]

This Spring, we recruited a group of seven incredible teens across North and South counties. In the ADAPT Lab, teens are the experts! We have been holding bi-weekly meetings with our advisory board to learn more about issues important to teens today. We hope to use our advisory board’s insights to design our first longitudinal study on adolescent development!

Left: Research Assistants Ana and Debora recruiting for the Youth Advisory Board
Right: Youth Advisory Board leaders hosting our first advisory board meeting!

Natasha Speaks at the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent

[September 2024]

Natasha was honored to speak at the CDA’s 2024 Symposium on Adolescent Brain Development focused on the “Impact of Civic Engagement on Exploration and Risk Taking.” Natasha was proud to serve as the resident “expert” on positive risk taking and its benefits to young people alongside her co-presenters LaJuan Allen (Director of Vote16USA) and Audrey Rothenberg (Culver City High School). Watch the conversation here.