Laura Ferrer Wreder Professor

I am a developmental psychologist. The research that I conduct integrates the study of human development, culture, and intervention/implementation science. I focus on advancing our understanding of child and youth development as well as the life conditions of children and adolescents. I have a particular focus on positive development, including the development of social emotional competence, in diverse children and youth. I also work with schools and community-based organizations to partner with them to build resources to support the children and youth that they serve.

Selected Work

Selected Recent Publications

Wiium, N. & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2026). Youth development in a global perspective: Broadening the scope. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Online First January 13, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254251411142

Buenconsejo, J. U., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Dimitrova, R., Pavlova, I., Bosnar, K., Bartoluci, S., Katović, D., Prot, F., Sultana, M. S., Islam, M. S., Michałek-Kwiecień, J., Skrzypińska, K., Kazmierczak, M., Lewandowska-Walter, A., Borchet, J., Buzea, C., Stefenel, D., Page, D. T., Luden, M. K., . . . Altansukh, S. (2025). Global profiles of positive youth development: A person-oriented analysis among emerging adults living in 21 countries. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02174-z

Buenconsejo, J. U., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Kadir, N. B. A., Krauss, S., Yu, Y., Aruta, J. J. B., Suryani, A. O., Kittiteerasack, P., & Dimitrova, R. (2025). The factorial validity and measurement invariance of the 7Cs of positive youth development among emerging adults in Southeast Asia. Developmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001956

Hau, H. G., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Kapetanovic, S., Tesfay, N., Eninger, L., Hammarberg, E., Gull, I. C., & Olsson, T. M. (2025). Att främja socio-emotionellt lärande hos barn i förskolan. I M. W. Allodi & H. Selenius (Red.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (s. 81–98). Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bct.e. Licens: CC BY 4.0

Strömbeck, J., Heyne, D., Ferrer-Wreder, L., & Alanko, K. (2025). Validation of an instrument for understanding school absence: the Swedish version of the adapted school refusal assessment scale-revised. BMC Psychology, 13, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02936-1

Wikman, C., Allodi, M. W., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2025). A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of a Teacher-Coaching Intervention: A Pilot Study Aimed at Supporting Classroom Climate and Student Development. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(5), 1063-1079. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2369893

Wikman, C., Allodi, M. W., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2025). En praktikbaserad coachingmodell sätter fokus på det sociala klimatet i lärandemiljön. I M. W. Allodi & H. Selenius (Red.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (s. 289–306). Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bct.n. Licens: CC BY 4.0

Strömbeck, J., Heyne, D., Ferrer-Wreder, L., & Alanko, K. (2024). Reliability and validity of the swedish version of the inventory of school attendance problems (isap). European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-024-02618-0

Selected Editorial Work

See two research topics in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Developmental Psychology on Positive Youth Development and mental health as well as a second topic entitled: Youth, Health and Development in Diverse Cultures and Contexts.

Selected Books

Ferrer-Wreder, L., & Kroger, J. (2020). Identity in adolescence: The balance between self and other (4th Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. DOI: 10.4324/9781315165806 

*5th edition available May 22, 2026

Dimitrova, R., Sam, D., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (Eds.). (2021). Roma minority in a global context: Resources for positive youth development. London, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190654061

Other Scholarly Work

Laura serves on the editorial board of three scholarly journals. She has also served on research grant review panels for the European Science Foundation, the Research Council of Norway, Institut National du Cancer - INCa (France), the Danish Council for Independent Research, and the Academy of Finland's Strategic Research Council. Laura Ferrer-Wreder is a member of the Scientific Committee for the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and is an Affiliate Faculty Member in Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, U.S.A. Laura also holds an appointment as Professor at the University of Agder, Norway.