Urbanisation and Poverty

In this project researchers from three continents join forces to assess how children’s psychological development is impacted by two often co-occurring global phenomena, urbanization and poverty. Little is known in general about children’s psychological development outside Western university towns and even less is known about how children develop in families that make the transition from rural to urban contexts.

In this large-scale study we will assess the development of 1800 3- to 5-year-old childrenin Bhutan, Turkey and Zimbabwe. All three countries are heavily affected by urbanization but the context in which this rural to urban transition takes place differs, creating diversity and the opportunity to look at both global and local risk and protective factors.