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By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today Since 1986, educators and public health proponents have used social norming theory to reduce youth risk behaviors. This theory holds that the behavior of young people is heavily influenced by their perception of what the norm is among their peers with regard to behaviors such as underage drinking…

By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today. In those six words, scribbled in his notebook next to disturbing drawings of guns and blood, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley warned those in his world that he was not OK. Hours later, despite opportunities for intervention, Crumbley shot up his school, killing four and wounding seven more. While…

By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today. There was nothing pretty about the public spectacle Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers created by lying about his vaccination status. His hubris placed his team at a competitive disadvantage and his teammates (and competitors) at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. Just as bad, he failed on the role model…

By Stephen Gray Wallace. Just last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, reminding us of the “serious toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on top of existing challenges” (AAP, 2021). Placing an urgent call…

By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today. The news about declining COVID-19 rates around the country may foreshadow a return to more “normal” rhythms and patterns of behavior. Among the casualties of online learning and socializing may have been traditional family dinners. An October 2021 article, “More Parents Are Rejecting Nightly Family Dinners – And Experts…

By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today. Throughout September’s National Suicide Prevention Month, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) rolled out “Together for Mental Health.” According to NAMI, this awareness initiative: Encourages people to bring their voices together to advocate for better mental health care, including a crisis response system. NAMI wants any person experiencing suicidal thoughts or…

The new school year is starting kind of, well, where the last one left off. Maybe worse. Nevertheless, amid the stunning emergence of the new, and more contagious, strain of COVID-19 (Delta) lurks an unrelenting optimism of life returning to normal. Though Dr. Anthony Fauci now warns that likely won’t happen until Spring 2022. Here…

Amid warnings of a new, and potentially more contagious, strain of COVID-19 (Delta Plus) lurks an unrelenting optimism of life returning to normal. Nonetheless, reentry may be anxiety-provoking, perhaps especially for children and teens. It’s one more hit in a decades-long spiral of youth mental health. Loneliness, anxiety, and depression have been well-cataloged among pandemic-era…

A January 2021 article in The Wall Street Journal, “Despite Covid-19 Risks, Summer Camps Are Filling Up Quickly,” points to the fact that organized camping is making a comeback! And not a moment too soon. According to the American Camp Association (ACA), “Camps build skills necessary to prepare campers to assume roles as successful adults. Parents, campers, and camp staff…

American Camp Association research associate, Victoria Povilaitis sits down with Stephen Gray Wallace who wears many hats as a school psychologist, adolescent & family counselor, ACA contributor, director of the Center for Adolescent Research & Education (CARE), former national chairman and CEO of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and much more!  The two unpack research coming from CARE and Total Brain on youth…