Incidence and effects of toxic stress on neurodevelopmental, cognitive and socioemotional outcomes in children and adolescents: a cross national comparative collaboration

Abstract

The team of researches draws on the scholarly advances made across different disciplines to propose a cross-national multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to generate new knowledge on the incidence and effects of toxic stress on neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes in children and adolescents in Brazil and the United States. Our team will examine the links between biological and socio-developmental indicators of toxic stress and its associations with impairments in behavior, cognition, and mental health in youth in two ecological settings, namely Brazil and USA. We aim to build a strong collaborative foundation for developing a comparative research strategy that would be carried out across both sites. This collaborative approach will also include incorporating innovative technology (e.g., fMRI, neuroimaging) and developing a partnership with local stakeholders, community leaders, and service providers for a better understanding of the needs and current state of the identified population. This collaborative approach will provide training/research opportunities for students and the identification of appropriate outlets for the dissemination of scholarly products as a result of this partnership. Our team of researchers will use their experiences and knowledge from ongoing research projects to flesh out a research plan for a future cross-national comparative research project. Thus, the team of researchers will identify appropriate external funding entities (national and international) and opportunities for supporting and carry out the implementation of the research strategy. (AU)