On October 31, Kayla Green defended her dissertation titled: “Becoming and Thriving in a Changing World” with honours. Her research focuses on the wellbeing of young people growing up in a rapidly changing society, with special attention to underrepresented groups.

Her dissertation, “Becoming and Thriving in a Changing World: Socioeconomic, social, and neural determinants of wellbeing across adolescence and young adulthood,” focuses on young people growing up in a complex, fast-changing society and the impact this has on their well-being, with a particular focus on engaging underrepresented groups. This includes youth with bi- or multicultural backgrounds and those facing socioeconomic challenges. “In general, they’re less represented in research. There were so few young people who looked like me, which of course depends on location. There was more diversity in Rotterdam, but it’s still not representative. We need to do more to keep these young people involved in studies.”

Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, Kayla shows how such events have impacted young people, particularly those facing socioeconomic difficulties, who were hit harder in terms of well-being. “I hope people realize that adolescence is a period full of changes, which can make young people behave differently, but that’s okay! Most young people are doing fine, but some are struggling, and we need to keep paying attention to that. It’s not enough to just blame one thing like ‘social media,” Kayla explains.

Her dissertation also addresses youth participation and how research can be conducted in collaboration with young people, such as co-creating a new well-being questionnaire. This approach can also contribute to greater diversity in research. “We need to try to include a representative group of young people in our research. Even if we increase from 5 to 10 percent, that’s something! Most studies researchers cite come from Europe, the US, etc., but we need to ensure that studies from other regions are also considered.”

Her enthusiasm for her work is clear, as she loves the variety in her workdays and the impact she can have on society. “Don’t put me on two weeks of just writing, I love it when other tasks come up in between! Data analysis, management, giving presentations – these things help me better understand how young people are growing up in a complex society. I’ve learned so much, which has allowed me to write what I’ve written!”

About Kayla Green

Kayla Green is a postdoc in the SYNC Lab at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is currently finishing up her PhD on the social and neural determinants of well-being among adolescents and young adults. Green’s work focuses on the adverse effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on brain development and well-being. She combines various methods, such as (f)MRI, survey, and youth participation. Green is co-founder of the science communication and youth participation platform YoungXperts. In 2022, Green was elected by the KNAW and NEMO Kennislink as one of the Faces of Science. Since then, she has frequently written blogs and made vlogs about her work and life as a scientist. Green also dedicates part of her time to work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in academia. She is a member of the Diversity working group of Flux Society and is affiliated with the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Center of Erasmus University Rotterdam.