The Society for the Study of Human Development (SSHD) held their biennial conference in Lexington, KY from October 24-26, 2025. The theme of this year’s conference was Developmental Science for the Public Good, focusing on how “research on human development across the lifespan has the potential to improve lives and make a difference in the human experience”. The conference showcased research with real-world applications, emphasized ethical community-engaged scholarship, and amplified innovative methods and underrepresented voices.
SSRI’s Community-Engaged Research, Action, and Partnerships (CERAP) Unit Co-Directors - Lori Francis, Kristen Goessling, and Dawn Witherspoon - presented at the Conference in a Symposium titled “Harnessing Strengths of Multiple Community Engaged Research Approaches for Public Impact”.
This symposium focused on using different and innovative community-engaged research designs and approaches across multiple developmental periods to investigate various developmental processes among diverse children, youth, and families of color.
Francis presented a paper that was co-written with Witherspoon, along with their community co-researchers Shayla Mitchell and Robin Perry-Smith, which utilizes an experimental design and describes how a structural intervention to impact children’s self-regulatory skills and stress responding was co-designed through community engagement.
Co-researcher Shayla Mitchell, Executive Director of Bright Futures Learning Centers in Harrisburg, PA , discussed the value of her community-university partnership with Penn State, and the importance of the research project on children’s behavioral outcomes and preschool success.
Witherspoon also presented a paper which capitalizes on the strength of an intensive, short-term longitudinal geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA) design with a community-engaged approach to amplify Black families’ voices as a window for change efforts.
Goessling then shared her paper, which outlines a framework for meeting youth where they are through a participatory approach (Youth Participatory Action Research – YPAR) to imagine and actualize social change.
Additionally, SSRI Director Deborah Ehrenthal was a discussant and shared remarks about the opportunities of, challenges with, and lessons learned about community-engaged research. This set of papers and reflections illustrated how community-engaged scholarship can be used across various research designs, different methods, and multiple developmental periods.
To learn more about SSHD’s annual conference, see the Conference Website, which includes further information about the full conference schedule, this year’s Keynote Speakers, and the history of the conference.
Papers:
Examining the Impact of Access to Greenspace on Self-Regulation and Stress Response in Preschool Children
Lori Francis, Ph.D.; Dawn P. Witherspoon, Ph.D.; Shayla Mitchell, M.A.; Robin Perry-Smith, MHA
Community Engaged Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment (GEMA) as a Tool to Amplify Black Families’ Voices
Dawn P. Witherspoon; Mayra Bámaca; Briah Glover; Jihee Im; Tiyobista M. Maereg; Wei Wei
Community Engaged Research: Youth Participatory Action Research (yPAR) for Social Change
Kristen Goessling