Editorial: Closing in on causal links between environmental exposures and human development using observational data – “confound those confounders!”
Pasco Fearon
Abstract
A central goal of developmental psychopathology research is to understand the mechanisms linking environmental exposures in childhood to variations in mental health and development across the lifespan. The Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry has featured many influential studies and reviews addressing this important topic. This month’s issue of the journal presents papers which address several specific environmental exposures, including prenatal factors, parenting and adverse childhood experiences, and illustrate important principles that should be used as a basis for taking the field forward.
We hope you enjoy the full editorial of this Issue, which is free on the Wiley Online Library.
Pasco is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, Joint-Director, UCL Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programme, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London.
