Handbook of Applied Developmental Science in Sub-Saharan Africa

This handbook collates research evidence and presents the most up-to-date findings on child development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses complex risk factors and medical conditions affecting childhood outcomes, and spotlights emerging programs for enhancing literacy and cognitive development. The panel of expert contributors offer needed context and knowledge to the discussion of previously understudied topics. Chapters present proven intervention strategies currently in use across the diverse region. In addition, this handbook provides guidelines for culturally sensitive and ethical research that will inform practice and help shape policy goals and initiatives.      

·         Fatherhood in the African context.

·         Sibling care-giving and its implications in Sub-Saharan Africa.

·         Nutritional status, infections, and child development

·         Diabetes in Sub-Saharan African children.

·         How to adapt tests for Sub-Saharan Africa.

·         A culturally sensitive approach to conducting research and promoting initial literacy development in Africa

The Handbook of Applied Developmental Science in Sub-Saharan Africa is a must-have resource for researchers, professionals/scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in child, school, and developmental psychology, as well as pediatrics, social work, public health, and education.       

• Applied child development in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Applied developmental science in non-Western settings
• Assessing mental health needs of African children
• Biomedical influences on child development in SSA
• Child well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Diabetes in African children and adolescents
• Ethical issues in child development research in SSA
• Helminth infections and educational outcomes in Africa
• Infectious diseases and child cognitive development in SSA
• Lifestyles diseases and child development in Africa
• Mother-infant interaction in African context
• Noncommunicable diseases and child development in Africa
• Nutrition and child development in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Parenting in sub-Saharan Africa
• Promoting literacy in Africa
• School interventions in SSA
• Social-emotional development in African children
• The home environment and child development in SSA
• Theories of language acquisition in African context
• Training issues and clinical work with children in SSA

• Department of Culture Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

  Amina Abubakar, Fons J.R. van de Vijver

Amina Abubakar, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Public Health at Pwani University, Kenya and a Research Fellow at the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust Research Programme.  She co-leads the Neuroscience research group at KEMRI-WTRP. She is also an honorary fellow at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK.  Her main interests are in the study of developmental delays and impairments among children and adolescents exposed to various health problems such as HIV, malnutrition and malaria. A focus in her work is the development of culturally appropriate strategies for identifying, monitoring and rehabilitating at-risk children.  She has (co)-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She has served on technical working groups, and forums for various international organizations including the World Health Organization, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (USA), Save the Children, and Autism Speaks.  She is actively involved in capacity building for African Scientists; she has supervised Postgraduate Diploma, Masters and PhD students in Kenya. She has also supervised PhD students from South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. 

Fons J. R. van de Vijver, Ph.D., holds a chair in cross-cultural psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and an extraordinary chair at North-West University, South Africa, and the University of Queensland, Australia. He has published more than 350 papers and chapters, mainly in the domain of cross-cultural psychology. His research focuses on bias and equivalence, psychological acculturation and multiculturalism, cognitive similarities and differences, response styles, and translations and adaptations. He supervises about 25 Ph.D. and 5 postdoctoral students. He has teaching experience in cross-cultural psychology and methods/statistics. Dr. van de Vijver has presented keynotes and invited lectures at various conferences and workshops in various countries. He is one of the most frequently cited cross-cultural psychologists in Europe. 

In addition, Dr. van de Vijver has received grants from various Dutch institutions (e.g., NWO and WOTRO), European Union (e.g., Marie Curie), South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development, and South African National Research Foundation. He is member of several professional organizations, including the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, International Association of Applied Psychology, European Association of Psychological Assessment, International Academy for Intercultural Research, and the International Test Commission.

Dr. van de Vijver is the former editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and serves on the board of various journals; he has evaluated manuscripts for 70 journals as ad-hoc reviewer. He has been vice-dean for research and vice-dean for education of his faculty and vice-director of Babylon, the interdisciplinary research center for studies of multicultural societies at Tilburg University.  He was a former president of Division 2 (Assessment and Evaluation) of the International Association of Applied Psychology and is now President of the European Association of Psychological Assessment.

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