Society for Research in Child Development

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) is an organization of more than 6,000 members from various academic disciplines concerned with the study of child development. Disciplines include, but are not limited to, anthropology, home economics, linguistics, neuroscience, nursing, nutrition,[Page 922] pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, public health, and sociology. In addition to being multidisciplinary, the society's membership is also international.

The child development movement in the United States began in the 1920s, but its roots reach back much further. It arose from external pressures broadly based on desires for better health, rearing, education, legal rights, and occupational treatment of children. Movements related to child health, child study, and mental hygiene were prominent by the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From these activities came the idea that children were the responsibility of the society at large.

The scientific status of the field of child development received formal recognition in 1923 through the Committee on Child Development, appointed by the National Research Council, a division of the National Academies of Science. Its purpose was to integrate research activities and to stimulate research in child development. In 1927, Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography, SRCD's first publication (which continued until 2000), was begun.

In 1933, the Committee on Child Development formed a new, independent organization, and the Society for Research in Child Development emerged. Its mission is to promote multidisciplinary research on infant, child, and adolescent development in diverse contexts and its life-long implications; to foster the exchange of information among scientists and other professionals worldwide; and to encourage applications of research-based knowledge.

The society currently publishes three journals:

1.
Child Development—contains original articles on development research and theory; six issues a year
2.
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development—consists primarily of comprehensive reports of large-scale research projects or integrated programs of research; four issues a year
3.
Social Policy Report—focuses each issue on a single topic affecting children, youth, or families and includes analyses of legislation and syntheses of research on issues of social policy and children; four issues a year

The society hosts a biennial meeting with an attendance of more than 5,500. These internationally attended meetings include individual research reports, symposia, invited lectures, and discussion sessions, among other timely and historical programs.

Almost one fifth of SRCD's members come from more than 50 nations other than the United States. Special efforts are made by the society to increase communication and interaction among researchers in human development throughout the world. The society also has a commitment to research and training in diversity. A major goal of SRCD is to increase and disseminate research on children from many racial and ethnic minorities.

The society maintains the Office of Policy and Communications in Washington, D.C. The director supervises the SRCD Fellows Program in Child Development. The goals of this program are to contribute to the effective use of scientific knowledge, to educate the scientific community about public policy, and to establish effective liaisons between scientists and federal and congressional offices. Fellows spend a year in federal agencies or congressional offices working to facilitate the application of research to societal issues regarding children and families. The Office of Policy and Communications also has programs to communicate research to the media and the public.

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