Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section – PDRP
The Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention (PDRP) Study Section reviews applications that focus on the identification of individual and contextual risk and protective factors and processes on individuals, the prevention of psychopathology and problem behaviors, and the design and testing of intra- and inter-personal interventions related to social development across the life span. Applications may be focused on outcomes and comorbid conditions related to the broader understanding of as normal/optimal development. Applications often involve quantitative and qualitative approaches, longitudinal, and/or multilevel strategies, including clinical trials.
Review Dates
Topics
- Risk and protective factors and preventive interventions related to developmental psychopathology and problem behaviors, including violence, child abuse and maltreatment, aggression, suicidal behavior, substance use and other negative influences.
- Risk and protective factors and individual interventions related to social development, including social skills and coping, emotion regulation strategies, social competence training, and school readiness.
- Risk and protective factors and interventions related to intra- and inter-personal development, including family relations, parenting skills, parent-child interaction, peer relationships, school relationships and normal social development.
Shared Interests and Overlaps
There are shared interests in developmental psychopathology with Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities (CPDD). Applications that emphasize nonclinical samples, children at risk, or children not yet diagnosed, and those that focus on preventative interventions, are reviewed in PDRP, especially if the emphasis is on family/contextual processes or factors that confer risk. Applications that emphasize environmental, social, and family risk factors such as those involving family relations, parent-child interactions, peer interactions, and/or exposure to violence are also reviewed in PDRP. Applications that emphasize diagnosis, etiology, comorbidity, and outcomes of psychological disorders are reviewed in CPDD
There are shared interests in emotional regulation with the Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress and Health (MESH). Applications focused on risk and protective factors and interventions related to socioemotional development and emotional regulation strategies are reviewed in PDRP. Applications focused on the interaction between stress/emotion and physical and mental health, with particular emphases on biological systems, are reviewed in MESH.
There are shared interests in developmental cognitive studies with Human Complex Mental Function (HCMF). Applications focused on risk and protective factors and interventions related to development of cognitive skills, social competence, decision making, working memory and other forms of executive functioning are reviewed in PDRP. Applications focused on mechanistic cognitive development (i.e., mathematical cognition, social-affective neuroscience, learning and memory), choice behavior and the effects of emotions on cognitive processing are reviewed in HCMF.
There are shared interests between PDRP and Social Psychology, Personality and Interpersonal Processes (SPIP) in applications that involve interpersonal, family-level processes that influence health outcomes with. Applications that emphasize parent and caregiver characteristics and interactions with the child as an influence on their individual and social development are reviewed in PDRP. Applications focused on the social and contextual aspects of family environments and on cultural dynamics that influence health behavior and decision-making are reviewed in SPIP.
There are shared interests between PDRP and Health Promotion in Communities (HPC) in interventions targeting children to promote health or moderate health risk. Applications that propose interventions through a school or similar community for the purpose of reducing risk or improving general health among the student community and at the school-level are typically reviewed in HPC. Applications that target children and emphasize social development or risk and protective factors as they relate to individual level behavior are reviewed in PDRP.
There are shared interests in the prevention of disease with Lifestyle Change and Behavioral Health (LCBH). Applications focused on the risk and protective factors related to child development that may contribute to disease prevention (e.g., parenting skills, parenting interventions, coping strategies, psychosocial factors, school settings social relationships, etc.) are reviewed in PDRP. Applications focused on lifestyle changes and general disease prevention in children are reviewed in LCBH.
There are shared interests in applications between PDRP and Interventions to Prevent and Treat Addictions (IPTA) in studies that propose substance use interventions with children/adolescents. Applications focused on substance abuse treatment and prevention interventions in general are reviewed in IPTA. Applications focused on parenting and socialization, risk and protective factors associated with adolescent development as it relates to substance use are reviewed in PDRP.
