Research project CHAMP

Childhood Adversity and Mental Health Project

The project at a glance

  • Start date:
    01 Sep 2023
  • Duration in months:
    36
  • Funding:
    Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR)
  • Principal Investigator(s):
    Pascale ENGEL DE ABREU
    Robert KUMSTA

About

Children facing difficult life circumstances, including adversity and trauma, are more prone to experiencing mental health issues and encountering educational difficulties. However, the underlying cognitive and biological mechanisms linking early adversities to these outcomes remain poorly understood. Understanding the intricate interplay between various factors influencing child development forms the cornerstone for developing effective interventions. The CHAMP project aims to fill this knowledge gap by comprehensively examining the mental health and cognitive development of children across diverse environments, including residential care, foster care, and boarding homes in Luxembourg. Employing a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, the project will investigate psychological, biological, educational, and social aspects of early adversity for the first time in a single project in Luxembourg. The findings will not only inform policy and practice within Luxembourg but also contribute to international efforts in understanding the complex relationships between risk and protective factors affecting child mental health, encompassing contextual, psychological, and epigenetic influences. By shedding light on how early adversity affects mental health and learning at both biological and psychological levels, this research will pave the way for the development of more effective interventions and support services for children in difficult life circumstances.

Organisation and Partners

  • Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
  • Department of Humanities
  • Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE)
  • Stress, Pain, and Gene-Environment Interplay
  • Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Development Lab
  • Office National de l’Enfance (ONE, Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse)
  • Fleegeelteren Lëtzebuerg
  • Fédération des acteurs du secteur social au Luxembourg (FEDAS)
  • Centre psycho-social et d'accompagnement scolaires (CEPAS, Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse)
  • Conférence Nationale des Élèves du Luxembourg (CNEL)
  • Ombudsman fir Kanner a Jugendlecher (OKaJu)
  • Association nationale des communautés éducatives et sociales du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg (ANCES)
  • UNICEF Luxembourg
  • Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH)
  • Ruhr Universität Bochum

Project team

Project advisors

Helen MINNIS, University of Glasgow, UK (external)
Christopher GILLBERG, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (external)
Michael TARREN-SWEENEY, University of Canterbury, New Zeeland (external)
Jane CALLAGHAN, University of Stirling, UK (external)
Silvia SCHNEIDER, Ruhr University Bochum & German Center for Mental Health, Germany (external)
Robert HARMSEN, University of Luxembourg
Lucien NICOLAY, Luxembourg (external)
Romaine THEISEN, Luxembourg (external)
Cathy MANGEN, Luxembourg (external)
Christiane BOURG, Luxembourg (external)
Nadine RASSEL, Luxembourg (external)
Alex KOCKHANS, Luxembourg (external)
Diane MARX, Luxembourg (external)

Young advisory team

Maite, Francisco, Leini, Baptiste, Cileida, Maëlys, Marie, Claire, Lou-Ann, Leonie, Sami, Kim, Liz, Lily, Jackie, Sarah, Sammy.

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