Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Risk and Protective Factors, Assessment, Interventions and Lifespan Outcomes

Submission Deadline: 30 June 2026 View: 332 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Assist. Prof. Laura Lacomba-Trejo

Email: laura.lacomba@uv.es

Affiliation: Developmental and Educational Psychology Department, Universitat de València, València, 46010, Spain

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Research Interests: mental health; childhood; adolescence; risk factors; protective factors; adversity

Prof. Dr. Francisco González-Sala

Email: francisco.gonzalez-sala@uv.es

Affiliation: Developmental and Educational Psychology Department, Universitat de València, València, 46010, Spain

Homepage:

Research Interests: mental health; childhood; adolescence; risk factors; protective factors; adversity

Summary

Mental health during childhood and adolescence plays a critical role in shaping psychosocial development, academic functioning, and long-term wellbeing. These formative years are marked by rapid cognitive, emotional, and social changes, making them a sensitive period for both vulnerability and growth. Early experiences, whether adverse or protective, can have profound and lasting effects that extend into adulthood, influencing mental health trajectories, coping capacities, and resilience.

This Special Issue aims to gather innovative and multidisciplinary contributions on mental health in children and adolescents, as well as on the long-term consequences of early experiences for adult functioning. We welcome research examining risk and protective factors, including—but not limited to—early life adversity, attachment, family and school environments, coping processes, resilience, and social support. Studies may focus on clinical or non-clinical populations and address how individual, relational, and contextual factors interact to shape mental health outcomes.

We are particularly interested in studies with adult samples that incorporate childhood or adolescent variables, whether through retrospective or longitudinal designs, shedding light on the pathways linking early experiences to adult mental health and wellbeing.

On behalf of the Editorial Office, we warmly invite the submission of empirical research articles, systematic reviews, theoretical papers, and methodological contributions employing descriptive, correlational, or predictive designs. Submissions may also address prevention, early intervention, and promotion strategies aimed at supporting mental health from childhood through adolescence and across the lifespan.

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