Heterogeneity in Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Development in Contexts of Developmental Vulnerability
A Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X) belonging to the section "Developmental Psychology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 129
Editor
Interests: child development in low- and middle-income countries; refugees in countries of first asylum and resettlement; role of culture in human development; diversity in developmental trajectories (especially trajectories showing positive deviance in contexts of adversity)
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue invites contributions that examine variability in cognitive and socio-emotional functioning among children, adolescents, and young adults living under conditions that pose significant risks to adaptive development. Across the globe, many millions of young people are exposed to environmental, political, social, and economic forces that have the potential to disrupt developmental trajectories. However, none of these contexts result in uniform outcomes. Instead, they reveal striking heterogeneity in the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills. Understanding this variability is central to advancing theory, refining research methods, and informing more respectful and effective policy development and professional practice.
We welcome contributions that investigate cognitive and/or socio-emotional development in the context of
- Disruptions to pre-existing developmental ecosystems, including those caused by natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes), human-involved crises (e.g., famine), and human-made disasters (e.g., war, terrorism, forced migration) (but excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been the focus of earlier Special Issues).
- Developmental ecosystems that are chronically constrained by socio-structural adversity, for example, due to poverty and deprivation or systemic victimization or discrimination directed at a minority group.
The focus of this Special Issue will be research that moves beyond documenting deficits to provide insights into developmental processes and mechanisms. We encourage studies that:
- Identify distinct subgroups of young people with differing cognitive or socio-emotional skill profiles.
- Examine diversity in developmental trajectories using longitudinal, person-centered, or advanced statistical approaches.
- Identify the protective factors or adaptive processes that distinguish young people who show positive deviance relative to their peers, or identify the risk factors and maladaptive processes that distinguish young people who show negative deviance relative to their peers.
- Explore the biological, psychological, familial, educational, and/or community-level mechanisms that influence diversity in cognitive and/or social development in contexts of developmental vulnerability.
- Evaluate interventions or policies designed to mitigate risk and promote positive social and/or cognitive development in contexts of developmental vulnerability.
Dr. Julie Robinson
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- social development
- cognitive development
- heterogeneity in development
- positive deviance
- adversity
- conflict
- terrorism
- disaster
- poverty
- discrimination
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