The Positive and Negative Effects of Hormones on Students’ Engagement
- Jul 31, 2025
- 3 min read
Cedric Drake is an expert in educational psychology. He dissects learning and brings innovative ideas, educational think tanks, and articles for academic institutions in the US and Asia. Currently, he is building a publishing company to connect students to companies in different fields and expand education.
During adolescence, significant hormonal changes affect the body and emotions, leaving teenagers wondering, “What is going on with my body?” It is not uncommon. It is human development working and puberty blossoming, thereby making this process a function of human life. There is increased hormone production where the body releases, for boys, testosterone and for girls, estrogen.
Furthermore, behavioral changes, emotional changes, fluctuations in mood swings, irritability, and their impact on mental health, as well as skin changes and brain development, are observed. However, how does this process affect students’ engagement in academia? There are positive and negative effects that contribute to the overall cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in student learning and the progression of academic success.
1. Increased motivation and reward sensitivity
Rising testosterone and estrogen levels sensitize the brain’s reward centers (e.g., the ventral striatum), driving teens to seek novel and rewarding experiences, including academic achievements and social recognition. This hormonal influence can boost engagement by encouraging goal-directed behavior and enthusiasm for challenges.
2. Enhanced emotional empathy and social awareness
Estrogen, especially, enhances emotional regulation and empathy by maturing prefrontal cortex regions, helping adolescent students connect better with peers and teachers. These improvements support collaborative learning and prosocial engagement in classroom settings.
3. Growth in cognitive functions
Hormonal changes contribute to brain maturation (including synaptic pruning and myelination), improving executive functions such as planning, attention, and impulse control. As these cognitive skills develop, students can better focus on tasks and regulate their learning behaviors.
4. Heightened social curiosity and exploratory behavior
Hormones nudge adolescents to explore complex social environments, increasing their curiosity and engagement in group activities, discussions, and social learning. This peer-oriented focus can promote participation and seeking feedback.
5. Increased physical energy and activity
The hormonal surge often increases overall energy levels and stamina, which can translate into greater physical participation in sports, extracurricular activities, and active classroom learning modalities.
Negative effects of adolescent hormones on student engagement
1. Mood swings and emotional volatility
Fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone can lead to unstable moods, irritability, or anxiety, which distract from concentration and reduce sustained academic engagement. Emotional lability may cause abrupt withdrawal or disruptive behavior in classrooms.
2. Impulsivity and risk-taking behavior
Elevated testosterone, particularly in boys, is associated with increased impulsiveness and risk-taking, which can undermine attention, increase classroom disruptions, and reduce persistence on challenging academic tasks.
3. Heightened sensitivity to peer influence
Hormones increase social reward sensitivity, making adolescents prioritize peer approval over academic goals. This can lead to disengagement from schoolwork if it conflicts with social dynamics or fosters susceptibility to negative peer pressure.
4. Sleep disruptions affecting cognitive performance
Hormonal shifts alter sleep patterns, often causing later sleep onset and insufficient rest, which impair memory, attention, and executive functioning necessary for learning.
5. Anxiety and depression vulnerability
Hormonal imbalances can elevate the risk of anxiety and depression, conditions that reduce motivation, impair cognitive function, and lead to absenteeism or withdrawal from school activities.
For adolescents, hormones play a dual role in shaping student engagement. They contribute to enhanced motivation, emotional insight, and social learning capacities that positively influence engagement. Conversely, hormonal fluctuations can cause emotional instability, impulsivity, and sleep disruptions that detract from academic focus. Awareness of these dual impacts is essential for educators and caregivers to foster supportive environments that harness the positive aspects while mitigating challenges.
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Cedric Drake, Educational Psychologist and Technology
Cedric Drake is an educational psychologist and technologist in the learning field. His ten years as an educator left him with the psychological understanding to innovate classrooms and learning centers for all ages. He has since gone on to be an educator at Los Angeles Opera, do doctoral studies in educational psychology, publish scholarly literature reviews and papers, and work at the American Psychological Association as an APA Proposal Reviewer for the APA Conference.
Reference:
Hormonal influences on adolescent brain function and behavior (Peper & Dahl, 2013; YEG Thrive, 2025)
Impact of puberty hormones on mood and cognition (Relational Psych, 2025; Paradigm Treatment, 2025)
Sleep and mood regulation linked with hormones (BetterHelp, 2025)
Neuroscientific studies on adolescent development (Tyborowska et al., 2016)
