Upon finishing this course, the student will have:
- advanced knowledge and insight into the family as a system of relationships and its importance for the development of children and adolescents;
- advanced knowledge and insights into bullying and its importance for the development of children and adolescents;
- advanced knowledge and insights into resilience and its importance for the development of children and adolescents;
- advanced knowledge and insights into the development of aggression;
- insights into the interconnectedness between normal and problematic development of children and adolescents;
- advanced insight into intercultural perspectives and improved intercultural competence
- learned how to integrate and critically evaluate empirical studies regarding a research question linked to one of the course themes by writing an individual scientific paper.

Link between purpose and contents
In-depth knowledge concerning the four themes will be provided in lectures. All lecturers are experts in their respective fields. As preparation for these lectures, recent review and empirical articles must be studied. Reading questions concerning these articles are provided to help students understand and check their knowledge of the exam material. The exams will contain open-ended questions concerning the articles and literature that were assigned as required reading material for the lectures as well as the content of the lectures themselves. Example exam questions will be made available.

Additionally, each student writes an individual scientific paper within one of the four themes to gain in-depth knowledge about a specific subject of his/her choice. The goal of this scientific paper is to teach students how to integrate and critically evaluate empirical studies to answer their own research question. Several individual assignments have been designed to guide students in writing their paper. During seminars, we will focus on peer and/or supervisor feedback on these assignments and on intercultural sensitivity and competence. The paper will be graded by the theme supervisor on a number of criteria that are included in the course manual. Example papers and paragraphs will also be made available to the students.

In this course we will study child and adolescent development, in the context of their social relationships (in particular within the family and peer group). The relationship between normal and problematic development is an important focal point. The course Psychosocial development and problems builds upon the knowledge gained in the Pedagogiek bachelor courses Opvoeding en ontwikkeling II (childrearing and development) and Emotional &behavioral disturbances. Students from other departments or universities must verify using the general criteria mentioned that they possess the prerequisite prior knowledge to successfully follow our course. A number of subjects will be explored in an advanced manner, e.g. Bullying, The family system, and Aggression. Additional subjects may be announced later. These subjects will be taught in lectures. For this purpose, recent review and empirical articles must be studied. In addition, each student will choose one of these subjects to write an individual paper about. The written exam questions will be in English, students may answer in English or Dutch. The paper will be written in Dutch for Dutch students (unless they prefer to write in English) and in English for foreign students.

Presumed prior knowledge
Prerequisite knowledge for exchange students and students from other departments:
- knowledge of different theoretical perspectives concerning child development and childrearing;
- knowledge of the most important developmental tasks of children and adolescents, as well as parental childrearing tasks;
- knowledge of psychosocial problems, including relevant factors and conditions that might influence the development and course of these problems;
- able to find academic literature using search engines like Web of Science, PsycINFO or Google Scholar;
- able to write an academic paper following APA (American Psychological Association) rules of style in either English or Dutch.