What's Happening in the Brain at This Age?

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Dr Dickon Bevington is an NHS consultant, child and adolescent psychiatrist. He says there are changes happening from around the age of nine going up into the teens that are quite sort of unique. Children start to create a set of almost like scripts about how people should or ought to behave in certain contexts. Most parents would recognise that something quite dramatic begins to shift when their child becomes significantly more socially aware.

According to new research by the children’s commissioner for England, one in 10 children have watched pornography by the time they are nine years old. And teachers say the effects are being felt in schools. So what makes young people vulnerable to this kind of content, and what impact might it have on their brains and behaviour? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian education correspondent Sally Weale, and to consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Dickon Bevington. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod