The overarching goal of the Social Development and Intervention Research Program (SDIRP) is to conduct basic research on behavioral development and to translate this work into effective services for youth. Accordingly, the efforts of the SDIRP focus on clarifying processes and patterns of adjustment across childhood and adolescence and creating innovative prevention and treatment programs for youth who are at-risk of maladaptive outcomes. Four complementary aims serve as a foundation for these efforts. The first aim is to identify how information on natural developmental processes can be used to establish and refine effective interventions across the school-age years (i.e., from kindergarten through entry into post-secondary education or the workforce). The second aim is to create dissemination structures and strategies that bridge basic science and practice. The third aim is to develop innovative community-based interventions and service delivery structures that are guided by a developmental science framework. The fourth aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions and structures in the “real world.”

Specific issues addressed by the SDIRP include:

• The analysis of continuity and change in patterns of adaptation across childhood and adolescence, particularly for youth who demonstrate competence and resilience in high-risk circumstances and youth who experience adjustment difficulties and problematic outcomes;

• The contributions of social relations and school social dynamics to the academic and behavioral adjustment of youth;

• The promotion of academic, behavioral, and social competence in children and adolescents;

• The prevention of interpersonal conflict, bullying, social aggression, and violence in youth (particularly in the school context);

• The prevention of childhood and adolescence adjustment problems including school failure, school dropout, teen parenthood, emotional and behavioral problems, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency;

• The creation of conceptual frameworks and training models that promote the establishment and coordination of comprehensive service delivery structures that bring together community agencies (i.e., schools, mental health, public health, social services, community recreation, juvenile justice) to meet the prevention and treatment needs of youth.