John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)
Forecasted
John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) funds early career psychologists' research to advance early intervention and treatment for children.
Funder: American Psychological Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: 3 grants of up to $22,000 each; funds used within 12 months
Summary: Supports early career psychologists researching early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children.
Key Information: Applicants must be no more than 10 years postdoctoral with a degree from an accredited university.
Description
The American Psychological Foundation (APF) and the John and Polly Sparks Foundation support early career psychologists conducting research on early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children. Their partnership aims to produce scientifically based research and programs that could serve as models for broad application across the country.
The program emphasizes the quality and impact of proposed work, innovation, and contributions to the field. Funded research has addressed early detection of emotional disturbance, youth suicide risk, adolescent aggression, and interventions for children and adolescents. Recent projects include studies of sleep–wake regulation and cognitive control as signals of aggression, family-centered violence risk assessment, and parent-child emotion regulation.
