Research Center for Developmental Processes and Gradients in Mental Health - PROMENTA

The PROMENTA Research Center aims to generate and disseminate vital knowledge about causes, processes, and gradients in mental health problems, drug use, and wellbeing. More specifically, we address these questions: 1) What processes lead to poor and good mental health and wellbeing, and how? 2) How do social and geographic inequalities in mental health arise? 3) How can we develop, tailor, and evaluate effective interventions in communities to promote good mental health and wellbeing? To address these questions, we examine sources of mental health on a variety of levels, such as genetic risk, neurocognitive development, the psychosocial environment, and the socio-cultural and political context. By applying an interdisciplinary approach PROMENTA generates knowledge to promote wellbeing, prevent poor mental health and drug use problems, and reduce social and geographic inequalities in mental health. We use several large longitudinal datasets combining register data, genetically informative data, neuroimaging data, and data collected by mobile applications. Moreover, we make use of geodata and large-scale repeated cross-sectional surveys. Together with relevant users and stakeholders, we conduct and evaluate health promotive interventions. PROMENTA is based at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo (UiO). PROMENTAs partner institutions are the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, UiO; the University IT Department (USIT), UiO; the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI); the Norwegian WHO Healthy Cities Network Fremsam; Oslo Metropolitan University; Leiden University (the Netherlands); and Virginia Commonwealth University (USA). Several national and international collaborators are associated with the center. During the first five years we have published more than 400 studies. We have examined a range of topics, including the relationship between parental and children's mental health, assessing wellbeing in Norway, mental health during the corona pandemic, development of new measurement tools, social and geographic inequalities in mental health, pregnancy stress, brain development, and opioid addiction. Our findings have received high attention in the media, we collaborate with the municipal sector and user groups, and arranged guest lectures, seminars, and conferences. More information on our website: https://www.sv.uio.no/promenta/english/.

By using novel and innovative designs and research methods, we will provide answers to three central questions in current mental health research: (1) How can we understand processes that lead to poor and good mental health? (2) How can such processes provide insight into development of social and geographical gradients in mental health? (3) How can we develop effective interventions in communities to address such processes and gradients? To achieve this aim, we plan to establish the research centre PROMENTA that will provide interdisciplinary and ground-breaking research elucidating the complex causal interplay at multiple levels, including (a) genetic risk, (b) neurocognitive development, (c) the proximate environment (family, friends, and neighborhood), (d) the sociocultural and political context, and (e) time, akin to the bioecological model of human development. By applying an interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from genetics, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, sociology, econometrics, and informatics, PROMENTA will deliver highly warranted and applicable knowledge to promote wellbeing, prevent poor mental health and drug use problems, and reduce gradients in mental health. We will use several large genetically informative longitudinal datasets and national registries comprising time series data, molecular genetic data, twin data, MRI data, and experience sampling data using mobile applications. Moreover, we make use of geodata, large-scale repeated cross-sectional survey data, and ethnographic field work. With relevant users and stakeholders, we will do intervention research on the municipality level. By integrating methodological approaches from psychometrics, multilevel modelling, genetics, and econometrics, we will develop causal modeling strategies that are needed. PROMENTA will be the foundation for a long-term strategic commitment of a highly skilled research team including collaboration with several world leading experts.