The Importance of International Collaborative Research for Advancing Understanding of Child and Youth Development

Abstract

International collaborative research has the potential to advance developmental psychology in important ways. When basic science is conducted only in high-income, Western countries, the experiences of children and youth in these countries end up defining what is known about development. Young people adapt to the circumstances in which they live, so to understand development fully, research must be conducted in the range of cultural contexts in which development occurs. International collaborations, collecting data in a wide range of countries, and incorporating diverse cultural perspectives are central to this effort. This article outlines seven recommendations for researchers conducting collaborative international research on child and youth development. The recommendations address conceptual and methodological issues (avoiding a deficit perspective, rethinking ideas about standard or so-called “normative” development patterns, considering relations between age and development, and attending to comparability of samples and measures) and issues related to researchers themselves (collaborating with scholars and community members from other cultures, being strategic with potential collaborators and research participants, and communicating in person).