EARA Goals

The EARA concerns itself with a broad array of topics within the area of psychological research on adolescence. Some are:

• Adolescent socialization (adolescents and parents, friendship and peer groups, employment, community, and subculture)
• Adolescents at risk (emotional or behavioral problems, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior)
• Adolescent mental health (well-being, stress and coping, handicaps, intervention, and treatment)
• Adolescent identity formation (identity, self-esteem, social cognition, gender role, and ethnicity)
• Research methodology (qualitative and quantitative methods, designs, and person versus variable approaches)

Such topics are of interest to psychologists, but also to those working in disciplines such as Sociology, Psychiatry, Biology, and Education. Recognizing this cross-disciplinary sharing of interest, the Association seeks to involve as members those sharing its interest in psychological issues in adolescent research, even though their working discipline may be other than Psychology. This perspective underlies the specific aims of the Association, which are listed below.

• To promote and safeguard high quality basic and applied psychological research in Europe on all aspects of adolescence.
• To create a forum for bringing together European researchers who are engaged in any aspect of psychological research on adolescence.
• To promote communication between those engaged in research on adolescence in Europe via workshops, conferences, and a newsletter, and by creating European data bases and regular lists of publications of members of the Association.
• To work together with other organizations whose aims overlap or (partly) coincide with those of the EARA.
• To promote professional training of young European researchers in adolescence.
• To give advice to national and European authorities on (psychological research on) adolescence and to promote the development of a European research policy and program concerning adolescents and their problems.
• To promote cross-cultural and/or cross national research on adolescence in Europe.

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