Social Determinants of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Psychological Health – SBCP
NOTE: Starts with the October 2026 Council round submission dates (Cycle I due dates). This study section was evaluated as part of CSR’s ENQUIRE process to align study sections with advances in science. Learn more about ENQUIRE.
Social Determinants of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Psychological Health (SBCP) reviews applications that seek to understand the relationship between measurable population-level social and economic factors and health behavior, socio-emotional, cognitive, and psychological outcomes. Studies use large-scale population-level data to conduct cross-national, national, or state-level analyses to understand patterns and trends in behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health and their social, socio-environmental, and economic/policy antecedents and consequences. Research approaches may include cross sectional, longitudinal, and cohort comparison designs; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; data collection and harmonization efforts; and both quantitative and qualitative methods. Studies focusing on outcomes related to physical health or biological processes are reviewed elsewhere.
Review Dates
Topics
- Studies of the social and economic predictors of health risk behaviors (e.g., substance use and related harms, IPV, injury, suicide attempts, etc.)
- Population-level lifecourse studies examining multi-level influences such as childhood, family, public health messaging, or other environmental influence on outcomes such as socio-emotional well-being, mental health, academic success, cognitive abilities, dementia, etc.
- Studies that measure, model, or identify risk factors for behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health across broad population groups and settings (e.g., rural and urban, U.S. cancer survivors, older adult populations, etc.).
- Studies that focus on the mechanisms by which economic and social policies (e.g., childcare, housing), and/or social context (e.g., food access, geographic location) at the state, national, or cross-national level result in differing behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health outcomes across population groups.
- Large-scale comparative and prospective studies within the context of understanding behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health.
Shared Interests and Overlaps
There are shared interests in social and economic influences on population health with Population Dynamics and Health (PDAH). Studies that focus on the impact of these influences on behavioral health outcomes, cognitive, or psychological health are reviewed in SBCP. Studies that focus on the impact of these influences on physical health outcomes, morbidity, and mortality are reviewed in PDAH. For applications with a mix of aims, the application’s primary emphasis will determine the study section of best fit.
There are shared interests in how social and environmental factors influence cognitive and psychological outcomes with Social and Environmental Determinants of Health (SEDH). Applications focused on social exposures and broad environmental exposures (e.g., climate change, natural disasters, neighborhood context) and their associations with general cognitive and psychological outcomes are reviewed in SBCP. Applications that examine more complex or mechanistic environmental exposures such as heavy metals, chemical mixtures, or components of air pollution and/or effects of broad social and environment factors on biological, biomedical or biobehavioral processes and disease-specific outcomes are reviewed in SEDH.
There are shared interests in the study of space- and place-based influences on health with Community and Place-Based Determinants of Health (CPDH). Applications involving large-scale population studies of space- and place-based factors or large-scale policies on population-level behavioral, cognitive, and psychological outcomes are reviewed in SBCP. Applications that focus on the health effects of space, place and policy at a smaller scale (e.g., within individual communities, neighborhoods or households) are reviewed in CPDH.
There are shared interests in the study of contextual and cultural influences on behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health with Psychosocial Influences on Healthy Development (PIHD) and Social and Interpersonal Processes of Health Disparities (SIPH). Applications that emphasize broad economic conditions and other social factors and their impact on behavioral, cognitive, and psychological health are reviewed in SBCP. Applications that focus on individual-level, psycho-social, or relationship dynamics to better understand developmental processes or mechanisms are reviewed in PIHD (if reflecting normative development) or SIPH (if reflecting influences that may contribute to health disparities).
There are shared interests in behavioral, cognitive and psychological healthcare outcomes with study sections in the Health Services and Systems (HSS) review branch (ODHS, HSQE, etc.). Applications that examine social, environmental, or behavioral determinants outside of the health care system and their impact on behavioral, cognitive, and psychological outcomes are reviewed in SBCP. Applications that examine health system, organization, and provider-level factors and how they impact health care access, delivery, and utilization are reviewed in a HSS study section.
There are shared interests in behavioral, cognitive, and psychological outcomes at the population level with study sections in the Epidemiology and Population Health review branch (CHD, LHB, RPPH, and others). Applications that focus on social and economic determinants of broad behavioral, cognitive, and psychological outcomes (e.g., presence of the condition) are reviewed in SBCP. Applications that have less emphasis on social and economic exposures and/or more emphasis on clinical or biological cognitive and psychological outcomes are reviewed within the EPH branch.
