Project PI and Skåne Center

Elia Psouni, PI and head of the Skåne center (Lic. Psychol., Docent, chair of Division of Developmental Psychology, Lund University) has expertise in research on attachment development, family relationships and mental health; participatory research in longitudinal designs; wide range of internationally established assessment methods, combining in-depth investigation with epidemiological survey techniques; formal training in project leadership; long standing experience of research supervision.

Västra Götaland Center

Elin Alfredsson, University of Gothenburg (PhD, Lic. psychol/GU, MBHV-psykolog), has extensive experience of longitudinal intervention studies. She heads the Västra Götaland center, liaises with the Regional BMHV units and organizes information on site.

PhD students and Research Assistants

Gizem Han graduated from the International Master's Program in Psychology at Lund University in 2018 and joined the project as a PhD student in March 2020. Within the project, she focuses on the implicit components of attachment representations and how they can be reliably activated and assessed. She examines brain signatures of these components and studies whether their activation can affect known attachment-related cognitive biases.

Martina Andersson Søe graduated from the University of Copenhagen (DK) in 2016 with an Master’s in Psychology, and worked in the following as a preschool- and school psychologist and family therapist. Attachment development can be understood as a result of relationship-specific interactions with several caregivers in different contexts, and preschool is a central context. Within the project, Martina focuses on the introduction to preschool and how it lays the foundation for relationship building and relationship quality between preschool staff, parents and children.

A number of students in the last semester of the psychology program or the International Master's program have collaborated/collaborate with us the project. We are very grateful to Tove Bonnedal and Maria Sandgren, Nellie Ahlfors and Josefin Wennerholm, Cassidy Cheshire, Lina Andersson Wulkan and Isabel Stenberg.

Other collaborators

Elinor Schad (Lic. Psychologist, PhD, specialist in Pedagogic Psychology, Lund University) contributes with expertise on issues related to preschool, school and qualitative methods.

Lina Ponnert (Docent, Social work, Lund University) contributes interdisciplinary expertise on issues relating to the legal framework of different-form families, social support to families and child protection.

Juan Merlo (Professor, Social Epidemiology, Lund University) guides the large database merge and record linkage.
Our national consultant group consists of professors emeritus: Pia Risholm, Gunilla Bohlin and Anders Broberg

International consultants for the project:

Professor Pasco Fearon (UCL), with leading expertise on mechanisms of socioemotional development, and the social and biological processes involved in risk for psychopathology.

Professor Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), leading researcher in attachment and emotion regulation in parents and their children. 

Professor Carlo Schuengel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), studies family relationships and the development of mental health and resilience; and is currently heading a longitudinal pregnancy cohort study in the Netherlands.

Support Staff

At Lund University, economist Camilla Rapp and HR-officer Hannah Stén provide valuable administrative support. Ulrika Oredsson provides media-support. All illustrations are made by Isabella Garwicz-Psouni.