Between the Lines

Neurological Assessment

Can You Tell How Mature Your Kid's Brain Is by Looking Into It?

Jane Adams Ph.D. on March 21, 2023

Advances in neuroscience allow us to see the brain in action, but they don't measure every dimension of cognitive functioning or accurately measure the many dimensions of maturity.

Advances in neuroscience allow us to see the brain in action, but they don't measure every dimension of cognitive functioning or accurately measure the many dimensions of maturity.

Relationships

When It Comes to Grown Kids, How Close Is Too Close?

Jane Adams Ph.D. on February 7, 2023

When family boundaries are enmeshed, grown kids can't separate emotionally from parents without feeling guilty, and parents can't let go without feeling abandoned.

When family boundaries are enmeshed, grown kids can't separate emotionally from parents without feeling guilty, and parents can't let go without feeling abandoned.

Loneliness

Why Getting Older Takes a Village

Jane Adams Ph.D. on December 29, 2022

A health crisis reorders thinking about who you can count on to help as you age, and an epidemic of loneliness brings it home.

A health crisis reorders thinking about who you can count on to help as you age, and an epidemic of loneliness brings it home.

Child Development

Untangling Enmeshed Boundaries with Grown Children

Jane Adams Ph.D. on December 8, 2022

Boundaries between parents and children change as kids mature; if they don't, conflict is inevitable as children seek the separation and individuation necessary to development.

Boundaries between parents and children change as kids mature; if they don't, conflict is inevitable as children seek the separation and individuation necessary to development.

Narcissism

How Economic Conditions in Early Adulthood Shape Personality

Jane Adams Ph.D. on October 17, 2022

Economic conditions directly influence personality development; the worse conditions are in young adulthood, the less narcissistic and entitled people become as they mature.

Economic conditions directly influence personality development; the worse conditions are in young adulthood, the less narcissistic and entitled people become as they mature.

Adoption

Finding Out You’re Not Who You Thought You Were

Jane Adams Ph.D. on September 30, 2022

Inexpensive DNA technology has ripped open secrets of assisted conception, adoption, and misattributed parentage and brought troubling identity issues to many.

Inexpensive DNA technology has ripped open secrets of assisted conception, adoption, and misattributed parentage and brought troubling identity issues to many.

Family Dynamics

Giving Away the Stuff but Keeping the Memories

Jane Adams Ph.D. on August 16, 2022

Personal Perspective: Giving the right possessions to the right people keeps your memories in a safe place, and brings your family and friends closer.

Personal Perspective: Giving the right possessions to the right people keeps your memories in a safe place, and brings your family and friends closer.

Parenting

Channeling My Mother So My Kids Won't Forget Her

Jane Adams Ph.D. on July 20, 2022

Personal Perspective: The longer a parent is gone, the more alive they are in your memory, especially as you get older. Mostly, that's a good thing.

Personal Perspective: The longer a parent is gone, the more alive they are in your memory, especially as you get older. Mostly, that's a good thing.

Guilt

How to Wrestle Mother Guilt to the Ground

Jane Adams Ph.D. on June 24, 2022

Using a writer's tricks can create the motherhood role model you need now.

Using a writer's tricks can create the motherhood role model you need now.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Can Psychedelics Cure What Ails You?

Jane Adams Ph.D. on May 11, 2022

Renewed interest in treating mental illness with psychedelics has led to more research, higher use, and increased calls to lift restrictions.

Renewed interest in treating mental illness with psychedelics has led to more research, higher use, and increased calls to lift restrictions.

Stress

The Great Resignation: Why People Aren't Returning to Work

Jane Adams Ph.D. on April 26, 2022

The great resignation is more than a headline; people are reconsidering what matters besides their salary.

The great resignation is more than a headline; people are reconsidering what matters besides their salary.

Aging

Can Renting Out Your Spare Room Enrich Your Life, Too?

Jane Adams Ph.D. on March 23, 2022

Personal Perspective: Rising housing prices lead many seniors to share their homes, but taking in a younger roommate has unexpected benefits.

Personal Perspective: Rising housing prices lead many seniors to share their homes, but taking in a younger roommate has unexpected benefits.

Aging

Does Role Reversal Mean Losing Our Independence?

Jane Adams Ph.D. on March 4, 2022

Why does role reversal scare older adults so much? Because it feels like an assault on our independence rather than the truest definition of interdependence: helping each other.

Why does role reversal scare older adults so much? Because it feels like an assault on our independence rather than the truest definition of interdependence: helping each other.

Parenting

When Your Empty Nest Is a Revolving Door

Jane Adams Ph.D. on January 31, 2022

From surge to surge, the family home has become a revolving door for grown kids. It's usually just a pit stop, but every transition requires an agreement.

From surge to surge, the family home has become a revolving door for grown kids. It's usually just a pit stop, but every transition requires an agreement.

"Succession" is more relevant to many family businesses than you'd think; dysfunction in either the family or the business causes similar problems on a much smaller scale..

The difference between integrity and despair is the difference between a satisfactory old age or a bitter one .

Replacing expectations of our grown kids with hope based on their possibilities is a healthy stance for the parents of all grown kids.

Technology as well as cultural trends in an era of self-disclosure make keeping personal and family secrets obsolete, if not harder than ever.

The parents of college students with a history of depression, anxiety, or other mental illness need to plan for every contingency before the kids leave home..

Empathy is considered an admirable quality but its dark side can make us trust the wrong people, like rogues, con artists, cult leaders, and some politicians.