Commentary: New Directions in Developmentally Informed Intervention Research for Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

This special section of Child Development brings together experts in developmental science and intervention research to incorporate current evidence on resilience for vulnerable populations and give concrete suggestions for action and research. This commentary synthesizes the contributions of the articles, noting themes such as simultaneous attention to multiple risk, protective, and promotive processes; integrating new principles from clinical and therapeutic interventions; and adapting intervention approaches for new populations. It then describes additional directions for interventions to maximize resilience, including approaches that address social psychological processes, issues related to demographic and other forms of diversity, policy-related individual behaviors, and sequenced interventions across the life span. It also gives suggestions for integrating implementation science on expansion and scale with behavioral intervention science.

What factors are associated with resilient outcomes in children exposed to social adversity? A systematic review

“…While there is huge variation in the challenges children may experience, ranging from societal factors, such as poverty, to individual exposures, such as sexual abuse, there are likely to be resilience factors that are important across different contexts and adversities. Better evidence as to what promotes resilient outcomes in children exposed to trauma or adversity is essential for effective interventions to prevent or ameliorate the immediate and lifelong impacts 41 42…”

Resilience-promoting policies and contexts for children of color in the United States: Existing research and future priorities

“…As a direction for future research, behavioral interventions related to policy utilization is an under-studied yet potentially useful area of research for developmentally informed intervention science (Yoshikawa, Whipps, & Rojas, 2017). For example, policy interventions related to utilization of income support, federal food and nutrition assistance programs, health care policies, or workplace policies require individual behaviors for access, and navigation of these supports and interactions with service providers can be challenging for parents.…”

“…Although substantial progress across disciplines has advanced knowledge regarding policies and interventions that can foster resilience among children who face intersecting systems of disadvantage, bridging the gap from research to practice or policy is a challenge (Yoshikawa et al, 2017), and will require increasing public support to address racial and ethnic inequities (Williams & Cooper, 2019, 2020). To do this, there is a need to elevate awareness of racial and ethnic inequalities in economic and health outcomes, which are under-recognized by the general public in the United States (Benz, Espinosa, Welsh, & Fontes, 2011; Kraus, Onyeador, Daumeyer, Rucker, & Richeson, 2019; Niederdeppe, Bigman, Gonzales, & Gollust, 2013).…”

Children, Youth and Developmental Science in the 2015‐2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals

“…Generative research on risk, protective, promotive, and resilience processes has informed productive programs of research and evaluation. The fi eld of socioemotional learning interventions has had extensive grounding, for example, in longitudinal developmental science of this type (Luthar & Eisenberg, in press;Yoshikawa, Whipps, & Rojas, 2017). Approaches to programming grounded in contextual and cultural developmental science with evidence of positive impact on SDG-indicator outcomes include the Madrasa Early Childhood Program, which was based on local cultural norms regarding community learning contexts in East Africa, in addition to developmental science fi ndings on how children learn in early childhood education settings.…”