The Growth, Learning, and Development (GLAD) Program at the Drexel University College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry seeks to identify risk factors that lead to adjustment problems for children, as well to identify those positive factors that help to prevent the development of such problems. In particular, the GLAD Program is interested in how children with histories of prenatal substance exposure, maltreatment, or physical health problems adjust following such potential challenges. In learning how children adjust to developmental challenges, the GLAD Program uses a variety of techniques, including: self, parent, and teacher reports; behavioral observation; neuroimaging; hormone assays; and measures of immune function.
The Study of Optimal Development
Children, from infancy through adolescence and beyond, are faced with many challenges in their lives. Individual differences, though, are consistently observed in children's adjustment to various challenges, stressors, and risk factors. A better understanding of the factors that predict optimal emotional, behavioral, cognitive, physical, and social development may lead to more effective prevention and intervention efforts, as well as public policy decisions, that will enhance the lives of today's and tomorrow's children.
Projects in Progress
PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently recruiting NEW participants for our studies. Future projects may require participants. Please bookmark this page to check back at a future time.