11.2022 - 02.2026

Generation Echo project

This interdisciplinary project investigates how climate change and environmental threats impact children’s development, well-being, and mental health, focusing on both risk factors (e.g., pollution, disasters) and protective factors (e.g., connection to nature, family coping strategies). It examines biomarkers of exposure, eco-anxiety, and resilience, adopting a one-health perspective that integrates psychology, ecology, social sciences, neuroscience, and engineering. The goal is to identify pathways to safeguard the prosperity of future generations by highlighting molecular and epigenetics mechanisms linking environmental exposures with developmental trajectories.

The project has several potential applications, including informing public health and environmental policies, developing preventive programs to support families and reduce eco-anxiety, and guiding the design of greener, more child-friendly spaces. It can also lead to clinical and educational tools for identifying and supporting vulnerable children, raise public awareness about the psychological impacts of climate change, and foster cross-sector collaborations to promote sustainable, child-centered development from a one-health perspective.

Settori Scientifico Disciplinari

M-PSI/04  DEVELOPMENTAL AND EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Spoke 1 : Neurodevelopment, Cognition and Social Interaction

Developmental psychobiology lab