Mortality rates of young people have declined dramatically throughout the world but the fall is most marked among the under fives. But why is the decline among 15 to 24 year olds only half that of young children?

Advances in child development have provided evidence not only that there is a high co-occurrence of aggression and academic difficulties but also that these problems share similar etiologies. Results from a recent randomized experiment, reported in the latest edition of Child Development, suggest that the benefits of an integrated approach to improving both social-emotional learning and literacy are particularly effective for high-risk groups.

Good parenting is probably the most potent preventive force affecting child development, but in Western countries there is growing tension between work and family life. What role can the state play in easing this tension and can countries learn from one another?

In the last of a PA series on how to bring research and public policy together, three policy experts discuss the tensions – and offer some hope that proven programs for juvenile offenders can become a political reality.

Social scientists often aren’t invited to the table when juvenile justice policy is made. As a result, many programs are based on political values rather than proven effectiveness. How can scientists make their evidence more useful to policy makers? And how can policy designers act on scientific evidence? Two South Carolina researchers suggest solutions.

How can we reduce the criminal behavior of juvenile offenders? We do know which programs work and which don’t, two South Carolina researchers claim, yet fewer than 5% of juvenile offenders in the US receive evidence-based programs.

The assumption that cultural differences discourage minority ethnic parents from attending parenting groups is incorrect, according to a recent British study. But while the research shows how certain ethnic minority groups are keener on parenting interventions than the white British majority, turning this interest into actual attendance is another matter.

New research suggests that Focus for Girls, a program devised and evaluated by scientists at the Oregon Social Learning Center, has positive effects on the emotions and behavior of girls living in foster care during a particularly demanding normative transition.

When two evaluation methods are available, which to use? A recent paper argues that while both Randomized Control Trials are preferable they are often not practical and therefore Quasi Experimental Designs are often relied on.

When two evaluation methods are available, which to use? A recent paper argues that while both Randomized Control Trials are preferable they are often not practical and therefore Quasi Experimental Designs are often relied on.

Investment in early education for disadvantaged children is one policy decision for which a moral argument can be made. Another perspective comes from economists such as James Heckman, who focus on how such investments can increase equity and are good for the overall economy.

While evaluators of evidence-based programs to improve social and emotional outcomes have also shown children’s academic outcomes are improved a team of researchers in Pennsylvania have added to this finding by teasing apart the link between emotional and academic competence.

The final official review on child protection offers a shakeup of services.

A team of researchers in Sweden have conducted an independent evaluation of the acclaimed US-based Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care program and find significant positive effects for helping young people with severe behavior problems.

A recent review of randomized trials finds significant evidence for the long-term effectiveness of preventive parenting programs – but it is still unclear why they are effective.

There are plenty of scientists who publish good peer reviewed studies. But that’s all they do. Rare is it to find someone who has the whole package—impeccable research, excellent work ethic, and the ability to get that idea to the right people. That’s Kristin Moore, who has been working on children’s wellbeing for the last half century.

How do scientists communicate their findings to those who might use them? Online clearinghouses of evidence-based programs are a way of doing this but are not without their flaws.

Children who cannot control their behavior are more likely to suffer ill-health, financial difficulties, and end up in the criminal justice system in later life, a new report suggests. Now, though, the potential long-term economic and social benefits of programs that help children learn self-control can be better understood.

For more than three decades the Seattle Social Development Project has transformed our understanding of the pathways to healthy and deviant development, and it continues to make new strides as both participants in the study and state of scientific knowledge develop.