The Reading and Child Development Applied Research Group was constituted in July 2006, and is concerned with all areas of child development and reading difficulties. There are two key areas of expertise within the team: socio-cognitive and emotional understanding in children, and reading development.

The areas of socio-cognitive and emotional development of particular interest include:

• Theory of mind
• Children's drawings
• The impact of domestic violence and child maltreatment on child outcomes
• The developmental antecedents of childhood antisocial behaviour (including delinquency, bullying and early drug use)
• The developmental antecedents of socio-cognitive abilities, such as aspects of personality and the ability to recognise facially expressed emotion.

With respect to reading, we are interested in the development of assessments of reading-related skills, the early identification of reading difficulties and the evaluation and implementation of tuition methods and therapies, including the use of new technology and computer-based support for literacy. 

We aim to:

• Understand the developmental antecedents of social, emotional and cognitive behaviours in childhood
• Understand how children's internal representations of the world may impact on their psychological development
• Identify and understand internal and external influences on reading acquisition
• Contribute to the body of knowledge concerned with why some children struggle to achieve literacy
• Develop and evaluate resources and educational approaches that have the potential to foster successful reading development and school attainment