Media Resources
A centralized resource for journalists, podcast hosts, conference organizers, and event planners.
About the Book
The Success Trap: How the Pressure to Stand Out Is Fueling Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout in Teens—and the Fundamental Fix They Deserve challenges one of the most common assumptions about today's youth mental health crisis. While smartphones and social media deserve attention, Dr. Stuart Slavin argues that in many communities another powerful force has been hiding in plain sight: the escalating academic and extracurricular demands and pressure placed on young people.
Drawing on more than four decades as a pediatrician, medical educator, researcher, nationally recognized leader in well-being, Dr. Slavin explains why rising rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout began long before smartphones became ubiquitous and why lasting solutions require us to rethink the environments we create for young people. He shows how the environments adults create—in schools, families, sports, and communities—can either fuel chronic stress and burnout or help young people flourish.
Combining compelling research with practical, evidence-based strategies, The Success Trap reframes one of the most important conversations facing families today and offers a hopeful roadmap for helping young people flourish—without sacrificing excellence, ambition, or opportunity.
About Dr. Stuart Slavin
Stuart Slavin, MD, MEd, is a pediatrician, medical educator, nationally recognized leader in well-being, and author of The Success Trap: How the Pressure to Stand Out Is Fueling Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout in Teens—and the Fundamental Fix They Deserve. For more than four decades, Dr. Slavin has devoted his career to creating healthier environments in which children, students, and physicians can learn, grow, and thrive. In The Success Trap, he helps parents, educators, health professionals, and communities rethink one of the defining questions facing families: Why are so many teens—including high-achieving ones—struggling with anxiety, depression, and burnout? Drawing on decades of research and leadership, Dr. Slavin offers practical, evidence-based strategies that help young people flourish—not simply achieve.
Interview Topics
Understanding the Crisis
- We've been overlooking one of the major causes of the teen mental health crisis. Smartphones and social media matter, but in many communities, another powerful force has been hiding in plain sight: the escalating pressure to achieve.
- The long-term rise in anxiety and depression—and what the data really show.
- How parents can distinguish normal stress and anxiety from anxiety disorders.
Helping Kids Flourish: What Parents Can Do
- Helping children manage negative thoughts and self-criticism.
- Maladaptive perfectionism: Why striving for excellence is healthy—but striving to be perfect is not.
- Why kids need multiple sources of identity and purpose.
- What decades of motivation research reveal about helping kids flourish.
Rethinking School and Achievement
- Can schools improve student mental health without lowering academic standards? The evidence says yes.
- The hidden costs of today's achievement culture—and how schools can promote both learning and well-being.
- When extracurricular activities become too much: helping kids pursue excellence without sacrificing well-being.
- How parents can help create healthier definitions of success—and become catalysts for change in their schools.
Sample Interview Questions
Understanding the Crisis
- Everyone talks about smartphones and social media. Why do you believe we've overlooked another major driver of the youth mental health crisis?
- What does the research tell us about the role of excessive academic and extracurricular demands and pressure in today's youth mental health crisis?
- Anxiety seems to be everywhere today. How can parents tell the difference between normal stress and an anxiety disorder?
Helping Kids Flourish: What Parents Can Do
- What are the most common self-critical thinking patterns you see in young people?
- What is maladaptive perfectionism, and how is it different from simply having high standards?
- Many parents think perfectionism is simply part of being a high achiever. Why do you believe maladaptive perfectionism is one of the biggest threats to young people's mental health?
- What are some of the most effective ways parents can help children break free from perfectionistic thinking?
- Why is it so important for children to have multiple sources of identity and purpose?
Rethinking School, Extracurriculars, and Achievement
- Can schools really improve student mental health without lowering standards?
- Have extracurricular activities become too demanding for many children and teens?
- What aspects of today's achievement culture concern you most?
- You helped lead changes at Saint Louis University School of Medicine that dramatically reduced depression and anxiety without lowering academic performance. What can K–12 schools learn from that experience?
- What can parents do—starting today—to help create healthier definitions of success for their children?
Early Praise for The Success Trap
"Stuart Slavin has done something rare and necessary: he has given us the science and the
story
behind a crisis hiding in plain sight—for students from middle school to medical school. As
both
a pediatrician and a father, Stuart brings profound insight into how our culture's obsession
with achievement is stealing childhood, adolescence, and even young adulthood away from us
and
harming the developing brain—creating unnecessary toxic stress and mental suffering. This
book,
based on careful applied research in higher education, is a call to action for every parent,
educator, and policymaker. Read it, share it, and let it change the way we support our youth
on
the challenging journey of staying grounded, connected, and inspired in their lives."
― Daniel J. Siegel. New York Times bestselling author, Brainstorm, Mind and
Mindsight
“Dr. Slavin provides both a compelling account of the causes of distress among today’s youth
and
practical pathways for fostering their well-being. Backed by solid research, he illuminates
the
pressures of our achievement-focused culture and offers realistic, evidence-based solutions.
This is an essential guide for parents and educators who want to create environments in
which
young people can truly learn, thrive, and find meaning.”
― Richard M. Ryan, McKillop distinguished professor, Institute for Positive
Psychology and
Education, Australian Catholic University, co-developer of self-determination theory
“Young people today face relentless pressure to succeed in school, at home, and in every
aspect
of their lives. In The Success Trap, Stuart Slavin explains how a culture of constant
performance—not just phones—undermines our kids' mental health. He provides a practical,
evidence-based way to break the cycle by building resilience and giving kids more control,
choice, and purpose, without sacrificing ambition.“
― Jennifer Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of Never Enough and
Mattering
“The Success Trap is a must-read for our time. As a suicide prevention expert, psychiatrist,
teacher and mother, The Success Trap rings true. And the solutions Stuart Slavin presents
are on
target and actionable. We must push back on the culture of achievement that has sacrificed
psychological and social development for risky results at best. Let’s band together to show
there is a real way to achieve the outcomes we all want for our kids— because only when
youth
are thriving, can they grow into their most healthy authentic selves, which in turn goes
hand in
hand with pursuing and reaching their goals. The Success Trap provides the case and a
roadmap
for helping kids to thrive and ultimately experience deeper success.”
― Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer, American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention
“Achievement pressure is stressing young people out at epidemic levels. Dr. Stuart Slavin
provides us here with a compelling, highly readable mix of research evidence, case stories,
and
potential solutions. I recommend the book to all parents, educators, and anyone else
concerned
with the mental wellbeing of young people, kindergarten through graduate or medical school.”
― Peter Gray, Expert in child development and author of Free to Learn
“Stuart Slavin brings a powerful combination of clinical expertise and humane wisdom to bear
on
one of the deepest problems of our time. The Success Trap is a remarkable combination of
social
criticism and self-help—at once profound and useful.”
― Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law, Yale Law School, and author of
The
Meritocracy Trap
Media Inquiries
Dr. Slavin is available for podcast interviews, keynote presentations, television and radio interviews, print and online media, webinars, and virtual events.
For interview requests, review copies, or other media inquiries regarding The Success Trap,
please contact:
Kristin Casemore
Publicity, Ten Speed Press | Penguin Random House
kcasemore@penguinrandomhouse.com
or
media@drstuartslavin.com
General Inquiries
For speaking engagements, consulting, or general correspondence:
contact@drstuartslavin.com