Science has an important role to play in advising policymakers on crafting effective responses to social problems that affect the development of children. This article describes lessons learned from a multiyear, working collaboration among neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, economists, and communications researchers who…

Reviews the history of applied child development research. Suggests that future studies address questions that society needs to answer as well as questions that might contribute to theory, and that research methods be adjusted accordingly. Urges academics to broaden their audience to focus on practitioners, policymakers, and the public. Concludes…

Identifies the forces that influence how developmental research is prioritized and evaluated and how these influences are changing at entry into the new millennium. Considers the developmental researcher in context, suggesting that there will be increasing pressure to use new criteria when assessing the significance of twenty-first-century…

Reviews research on the effects of nature, nurture, and developmental processes on psychological functioning. Considers real advances in knowledge, outlines some of the misleading claims, and notes the potential for research and science-led improvements in policies and practice, emphasizing the need for a better interpretation of genetic,…

Examines whether prevention research can benefit from resilience research in designing interventions. Suggests that although many areas in the investigative interests of prevention and resilience researchers overlap, Luther, Cicchetti, and Becker may have set the bar too high for defining resilience in the context of varying levels of adversity.…

Discusses how child development research, social policy design, and human service delivery for children and families reflect three separate yet related cultures. Argues that transmitting knowledge from the academy to social policy and practice could be facilitated by a simple taxonomy differentiating established knowledge from both reasonable…