In a nut shell, we think that these views share an interest in understanding the strengths of people and resources in settings. These views differ in terms of the life conditions (for example levels of adversity) in which strengths and resources are studied. There are differences in the processes of change, as well as constructs of interest and periods in the life span in which more or less research is conducted. There are also exciting connections between these perspectives and ideas like successful aging in late adulthood.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.

How do you personally connect to the positive psychology or positive youth development perspectives? What brought you to these fields of research? 

Laura: I conducted my PhD studies at an alternative high school in Miami, Florida, USA. When I interacted with the youth there and talked with them about the idea of figuring out their identity and life questions, I became hooked on research in general and the study of adolescence in particular.

Later on, conducting school district wide research in the U.S., I became disappointed with the progress we made in that we would test and use beneficial interventions in schools, but innovations were very difficult to sustain over time. Experiences like these moved me towards the study of how problems and positive potentials interact over childhood and adolescence and to work to practically support adults who care for youth. 

Lilianne: I started my PhD studies in a longitudinal project focusing on socioemotional development from child age 6 weeks to (at that time) 9 years and was intrigued by trying to understand how different factors in and around children early in life, including attachment, child temperament, parental stress, and preschool quality, e.g., could predict outcomes in school such as social competence, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement, but also behavior problems.

Further work, investigating how executive functions such as poor self-regulation may be associated with behavior problems over time, although problem-focused from the outset, eventually led me to work involving interventions aimed at strengthening self-regulation, as one aspect of socioemotional competence.  

Sabina: Having been born and raised in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and having experienced large-scale intergroup conflict as a teenager, I have come to deeply appreciate the importance of focusing on potential and positivity in the face of adversity.

This commitment to identifying solutions, I believe, is deeply rooted in the positive psychology perspective.

This experience taught me two key lessons: first, that we have the power to shape how we interpret challenging events, and second, that there are long-term benefits to emphasizing growth and possibility rather than limitations. In my view, these insights lie at the heart of positive psychology.
 

How do these perspectives enrich your teaching and/or research?

Laura: I and colleagues in the Applied Developmental Science research group, use positive youth development theories, and constructs regularly. We study assets within local communities for example, social emotional competence, identity and more. For teaching, in a masters course that Sabina and I co lead, we take students through a deep dive into these views, going from descriptive research to intervention approaches. Some news is that Lilianne will be co leading this course with Sabina starting in Spring term 2026.

Sabina: This experience and perspective have profoundly shaped how I view life and the world around me. I strive to identify silver linings in all situations, and I believe this outlook naturally extends into my teaching, communication with students, and approach to research. In research, my focus is on identifying evidence-based solutions to societal challenges. This commitment to identifying solutions, I believe, is deeply rooted in the positive psychology perspective.

Photo: ZURIJETA from Mostphotos

In your opinion, what do the positive perspectives have to offer to the amelioration of today’s pressing social problems, for example climate change, youth involvement in criminality, psychological adaptation in post-conflict situations?

Laura and Lilianne: All youth have strengths to some degree. All developmental contexts also have assets to some extent, that could enrich youth. Having this outlook as a researcher or university teacher does not deny the reality of problems and challenges in life.

As developmental scientists, what we are curious about when we study developmental (life) trajectories in many large-scale longitudinal studies, is actually what data point to in terms of possibilities for adaptation. We see adaptation and resilience in these studies, so why not communicate this, when meeting youth and professionals in the community? Why not build research that addresses today’s problems from this standpoint?

Sabina: Given that my research focuses on the psychology of intergroup reconciliation in conflict-affected contexts, I see strong connections between positive psychology and the amelioration of today’s pressing social challenges. In particular, the fields of resilience and post-traumatic growth (key areas within positive psychology) are directly relevant to fostering psychological adaptation and recovery in post-conflict settings. These perspectives emphasize human strengths, coping capacities, and pathways to healing, which are essential for sustainable peace and societal rebuilding.
 

How did the project Supporting positive youth development come about, and what are its goals/aims?

Lilianne: This project provides seven freely available educational modules about selected issues that concern the positive development of young people. This project began as a collaborative international exchange between Stockholm University (in Sweden) and Texas Tech University (in Lubbock Texas, USA). Faculty and students created these seven educational modules.

Photo: Johan Nilsson Holmqvist from Unsplash

The goal of the modules is to support diverse professionals, with different educational backgrounds, who work practically with children and adolescents. To make the modules, we visited youth-serving organizations in Stockholm and Lubbock and reviewed the existing expertise and research literature on topics in which we identified that there was a need to know more.

The exchange was funded by the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT).

Would you like to learn more?

Professor Laura Ferrer Wreder

Associate Professor Lilianne Eninger

Professor Sabina Čehajić-Clancy

Applied Developmental Science (ADS) Research Group

Supporting positive youth development

Internet based parent training