The Human Development and Its Risk Factors Programme

University of Jyväskylä

Director: Professor Lea Pulkkinen
p. (014) 260 2854
f. (014) 260 4400
lea.pulkkinen(at)psyka.jyu.fi

Centre of Excellence Homepages

The Human Development and Its Risk Factors Programme comprises three cores.

(I) Socio-emotional Development and Its Risk Factors. This core includes (1) a longitudinal study from childhood to middle age, focusing currently on facing middle age with an emphasis on family, work and health; (2) analysis of the cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes underlying the regulation of emotions and (3) a study of the effects of risk factors involved in children's daily activities, such as playing electronic games.

(II) Cognitive Development and Its Risk Factors. The study focuses on (1) an intensive prospective follow-up from birth to reading age of children from families with a dyslexic parent (and controls); (2) the development of methods for assessing development risks and identifying means to prevent nonoptimal development and (3) basic research into learning disorders, especially dyslexia. The main aim is to identify the precursors and causal paths leading to dyslexia and to create a basis for sustained progress in the early identification of children showing nonoptimal cognitive development, and in the methods of prevention and intervention.

(III) The Longitudinal Study of Health and Behaviour in Twin Children, which is a large-scale longitudinal study carried out on international funding. It assesses the genetic, social and environmental factors predicting children's social development, health and health habits.

The Unit has a personnel of around 40.