This broad question includes a range of underlying questions about what psychological, physical, social and cognitive factors contribute to and underlie developmental problems in children and adolescents. These include questions around healthy development as well as questions about specific developmental problems, such as mental illness, child-parent problems, or the consequences of extreme circumstances such as child abuse. The complexity of this question can largely be reduced to the subquestions below: Which interventions and therapies are effective to develop resilience and talents in children and adolescents?
What are the causes and mechanisms involved in developmental problems of children and adolescents, and what does this mean for their diagnosis and treatment?
How do various genetic and environmental factors interact in the emergence and functioning of developmental problems and delays?
What are the effects of inclusive education and how can inclusive education be promoted?
What are the prevalence, causes and consequences of child abuse, gender-related violence and bullying?
Connecting character
Child and adolescent development encompasses physical, psychological, social and cognitive aspects that are influenced by many factors and also affect each other. This multitude of aspects and interactions calls for a multidisciplinary approach. Disciplines that are obvious here are developmental psychology, pedagogy, educational science and medical sciences. In addition, many other disciplines are also relevant, including movement sciences, law, language technology, computer science and engineering. Consider, for example, issues on the use of serious gaming in skills learning. Our knowledge of child and adolescent development is steadily increasing. Nevertheless, countless questions remain open. Fundamental questions, for instance, lie in the field of genetics and brain development, while application-oriented questions address how, by what means and under what conditions children and adolescents can develop optimally. To answer these application-oriented questions, much knowledge is still needed about mechanisms underlying healthy and unhealthy development, and how these can be influenced.
