Background and experience
Laura Ferrer-Wreder is a developmental psychologist whose research integrates the study of human development, culture, and intervention and implementation science. Her work advances understanding of child and youth development, as well as the life conditions of children and adolescents.
Ferrer-Wreder has a particular focus on positive development among diverse children and young people, including the development of social-emotional competence and identity. She also collaborates with schools and community-based organizations to build resources that support the children and youth they serve, with an emphasis on sustainable and evidence-informed practice.
Areas of responsibility
Research, teaching, and service to the university.
Teaching
Laura Ferrer-Wreder has over two decades of experience as a university-level teacher. She has had formal supervisory or evaluation roles in dissertation, masters, and undergraduate theses for over 97 students or trainees.
Research
Laura Ferrer-Wreder is co-head of the Applied Developmental Science Research Group at Stockholm University, Sweden and is now developing new research collaborations at the University of Agder, Norway.
A special area of research focus is Positive Youth Development (PYD) and to learn more about PYD, see the link and article below.
Global framework on transferable skills | UNICEF
Wiium, N. & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2026). Youth development in a global perspective: Broadening the scope. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Online First January 13, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254251411142
A Research Network in the Positive Youth Development Area
- Laura Ferrer-Wreder is a research partner in The Positive Youth Development Cross-National Project led by Professor Nora Wiium at the University of Bergen, Norway.
Examples of Recently Completed Research Projects
- Early social emotional competence promotion and its prospective importance to preventing later mental illness. Funder: FORTE (Sweden)
- Parent Web: Supporting Families with Adolescents. Funder: Stockholm University and Region Stockholm (Sweden).
- The Parent Web is created and developed by researchers at Karolinska Institute’s Department of Clinical Neuroscience, namely Kajsa Lönn-Rhodin, Martin Forster, and Pia Enebrink. An effectiveness trial of the universal edition of the Parent Web is made possible through a research collaboration with Pia Enebrink.
Other Scholarly Work & News
Laura serves on the editorial board of four scholarly journals. She has also served on research grant review panels for the European Science Foundation, the Research Council of Norway, Institut National du Cancer - INCa (France), the Danish Council for Independent Research, and the Academy of Finland's Strategic Research Council.
Laura Ferrer-Wreder is a member of the Scientific Committee for the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and is an Affiliate Faculty Member in Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, U.S.A., and is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at Stockholm University Sweden and the University of Agder Norway.
Selected Work
Selected Recent Publications
- Barbett, L., Syropoulos, S., Capozzoli, J. & the C19 Consortium* (2026). Nature connectedness and well-being: Evidence from a multi-national investigation across 75 countries. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 110, 102895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102895
*Laura Ferrer-Wreder is a C19 Consortium researcher
- Buenconsejo, J. U., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Kadir, N. B. A., Krauss, S., Yu, Y., Aruta, J. J. B., Suryani, A. O., Kittiteerasack, P., & Dimitrova, R. (2026). The factorial validity and measurement invariance of the 7Cs of positive youth development among emerging adults in Southeast Asia. Developmental Psychology, 62(1), 176-189. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001956
- Buenconsejo, J. U., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Dimitrova, R., Pavlova, I., Bosnar, K., Bartoluci, S., Katović, D., Prot, F., Sultana, M. S., Islam, M. S., Michałek-Kwiecień, J., Skrzypińska, K., Kazmierczak, M., Lewandowska-Walter, A., Borchet, J., Buzea, C., Stefenel, D., Page, D. T., Luden, M. K., . . . Altansukh, S. (2025). Global profiles of positive youth development: A person-oriented analysis among emerging adults living in 21 countries. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 54(8), 2094-2119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02174-z
- Hau, H. G., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Kapetanovic, S., Tesfay, N., Eninger, L., Hammarberg, E., Gull, I. C., & Olsson, T. M. (2025). Att främja socio-emotionellt lärande hos barn i förskolan. I M. W. Allodi & H. Selenius (Red.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (s. 81–98). Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bct.e. Licens: CC BY 4.0
- Wikman, C., Allodi, M. W., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2025). A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of a Teacher-Coaching Intervention: A Pilot Study Aimed at Supporting Classroom Climate and Student Development. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(5), 1063-1079. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2369893
- Wikman, C., Allodi, M. W., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2025). En praktikbaserad coachingmodell sätter fokus på det sociala klimatet i lärandemiljön. I M. W. Allodi & H. Selenius (Red.), Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser (s. 289–306). Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bct.n. Licens: CC BY 4.0
- Comiskey, C., Bergeron, H., Clausen, T., Colman, C., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Fischer, G., Gaspar de Matos, M., Ivers, J-H., Jauffret-Roustide, M., Liem, M., Lintonen, T., Moeller, K., Ojanperä, I., Rodríguez de Fonseca, F., & Torrens Mèlich, M. (2024). The importance of co-produced, multi-method, independent scientific evidence in times of alternative truths and global policy debates. International Journal of Drug Policy, 129, 104481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104481
- Ferrer-Wreder. L., & Tesfay, N. (2024). The global study of positive youth development: Implications for time, urgency, and social justice. In N. Wiium, D. Manrique-Millones, D. Miconi, & D. Stefenel (Eds.), Addressing Social Justice: A Positive Youth Development Approach (pp. 255–263). Fagbokforlaget. https://doi.org/10.55669/oa311010
Selected Editorial Work
- Frontiers in Psychology, Developmental Psychology on Positive Youth Development and mental health
- Youth, Health and Development in Diverse Cultures and Contexts.
Selected Books
- Ferrer-Wreder, L., Sugimura, K., & Kroger, J. (2026) Identity in Adolescence: The Balance Between Self and Other (5th edition). Taylor and Francis Group/Routledge. Available on May 22, 2026. DOI: 10.4324/9781003486336, ISBN: 9781003486336
- Dimitrova, R., Sam, D., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (Eds.). (2021). Roma minority in a global context: Resources for positive youth development. London, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190654061
News
At the June 24-26, 2026 International Society for Research on Identity (ISRI) conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Laura will become the new president-elect for the International Society for Research on Identity (ISRI).