The path to adulthood is not equally easy for every young person. Young people take more risks and sometimes try out unwise things. Because of this vulnerability and an inner drive for social status, it is also a period in which serious problems can arise, such as substance abuse, criminal behavior and depression. At the same time, it is also the period when young people discover what talents they have and when they can devise the most creative solutions to problems.
In this booklet, developmental psychologists, (child) neuropsychologists, psychophysiologists, (child) psychiatrists and other brain and behavioral scientists explain, from the perspective of their fields, the latest insights into the development of children's brains from birth to adulthood, and how this affects their behavior.
About the authors
This booklet was compiled by Katy de Kogel (senior scientific officer at the Ministry of Justice and Security and figurehead for NeuroLabNL), Sabine Peters (assistant professor at the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University), Annelinde Vandenbroucke (program coordinator of the Startimpuls component of NeuroLabNL), Bas Defize (lecturer at University College Utrecht and board member of the Biowetenschappen en Maatschappij foundation) and Astrid van de Graaf (freelance science journalist and science writer in Delft).
With a foreword by Eveline Crone, professor of neurocognitive developmental psychology at Leiden University and winner of the Spinoza Prize in 2017.
Scientists and specialists from, among others, Leiden University, Utrecht University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Radboud University, Open University, Amsterdam University Medical Center and Maastricht University contributed to the booklet.
The booklet can be downloaded here free of charge. A paid print version can be ordered from the Foundation for Biowetenschap en Maatschappij.