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Development in Context (DECO)

Our group explores research questions surrounding human development and lifelong learning within contexts such as education, sports, outdoor recreation, rehabilitation, and self-organized movement activities. We focus on understanding how these different environments influence development and how they can be optimized to promote positive outcomes across the lifespan.   

Four pictures in a collage showing different types of activities: a group of young people roller skating and skateboarding in an urban setting, children playing on a climbing frame in a park, a family hiking in the forest, and children running and playing on the grass.

Photo: Shutterstock

About us

We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in physical education, educational science, developmental science, motor development, psychology, outdoor studies, public health, and pedagogy. Our research is rooted in life course perspectives and developmental systems approaches which provide a comprehensive framework for understanding human development as a continuous and context-dependent process. We explore how individual trajectories of development and learning unfold over time, influenced by the interplay between personal experiences, environmental contexts, and societal structures.  

Our diverse research methodologies incorporate quantitative longitudinal designs, geographic information systems (GIS), qualitative case studies, mixed-method approaches,  and advanced statistical modeling. We aim to provide comprehensive insights into how schools, physical education, sports federations, outdoor organizations, municipalities, urban planners, health care systems, and policymakers can promote inclusion and participation in movement activities across the lifespan, ultimately enhancing health, well-being, and quality of life for all individuals.

Publications

  • Säfvenbom R, Agans JP, Kolle E, Haugen T. (2026) Reaching hard to reach youth: Who are the inactive youth? Journal of Health Psychology. https://doi:10.1177/13591053261430656
  • Fitton Davies, K., Ball, E., Bardid, F., Foweather, L., Rudd, J. R., & Knowles, Z. (2025). Exploring young children’s enjoyment of physical education using the Write, Draw, and Tell method. European Physical Education Review, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X251388626
  • Haraldsen, H. M. (2025). Selvbestemmelse og motivasjon i scenekunst og scenekunstopplæring. I H. Halvari & A. H. Olafsen (Red.), Motivasjon i fokus. Selvbestemmelsesteorien i teori og praksis (Kap. 12, s. 323–372). Cappelen Damm Akademisk. https://doi.org/10.23865/cdf.236.ch12
  • Liland, S. S., & Ulset, V. S. (2025). Declining Outdoor Recreation and Increased Use of Fitness Centers Among Norwegian Adolescents, 2010–2019. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081256
  • Moss, L.-P., Ronkainen, N., & Säfvenbom, R. (2025). Who Am I Outside of Sport… Maybe Nobody: Disrupted Identity Narratives in Young Female Athletes Following Severe Injury. Scandinavian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7, 69–76. https://doi.org/10.7146/sjsep.v7i.128419
  • Nordbø, E. C., Venter, Z. S., Ulset, V. S., Figari, H., Hansen, J., Korkou, M., & Scott, S. (2025). Nasjonal kartlegging av uteområder i norske grunnskoler. Helsedirektoratet. https://brage.nina.no/nina-xmlui/handle/11250/3176432
  • Nyberg, C., Gustafsson, H., Haraldsen, H. M., & Wagnsson, S. (2025). Differentiated pathways in upper secondary school. World-class Swedish athletes experiences. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 1-21.https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2025.2521265
  • Oppici, L., & Rudd, J. R. (2025). An opinion on how a qualitative lens can advance translational and rehabilitation practices: The example of Environmental Enrichment. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 19(1), e498. https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v19i1.498
  • Oppici, L., Bērziņa, G., Hestetun-Mandrup, A.M. et al. A Scoping Review of Preclinical Environmental Enrichment Protocols in Models of Poststroke to Set the Foundations for Translating the Paradigm to Clinical Settings. Transl. Stroke Res. 16, 1850–1873 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-025-01335-3
  • Oppici, L., Aadland, K.N., Aadland, E. et al. How can physical enrichment of school playgrounds improve movement behaviours and developmental outcomes in children and adolescents? A systematic review with meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-025-01856-y
  • Säfvenbom, R., Lunde, T. A., Bentzen, M., & Ivarsson, A. (2025). Students’ perception of dominant objectives in Physical Education: the Purpose of Physical Education Scale. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2025.2562571
  • Tamnes, C. K., Bekkhus, M., Eilertsen, M., Nes, R. B., Prydz, M. B., Ystrom, E., Aksnes, E. R., Andersen, S. N., Ask, H., Ayorech, Z., Baier, T., Beck, D., Berger, E. J., Bjørndal, L. D., Boer, O. D., Bos, M. G. N., Caspi, A., Cheesman, R., Chegeni, R.,…von Soest, T. (2025). The nature of the relation between mental well-being and ill-being. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02319-x
  • Säfvenbom, R., Haugen, T., Ulset, V. & Ivarsson, A. (2025). Temporal associations between sport participation, drop out from sports and mental health indicators: a two year follow up study. Behavioral Sciences 15 (12) https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15121665
  • Ulset, V. S., Oppici, L., Hamre, K., Rudd, J. R., Stornæs, A. V., Haraldsen, H. M., & Säfvenbom, R. (2025). Inclusion in Motion: Promoting Equitable Physical Activity and Health in Childhood and Adolescence. Children, 12(7), 942. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12070942
  • Dwarika, M. S., & Haraldsen, H. M. (2023). Mental health in dance: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1090645.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1090645
  • Haraldsen, H. M., Solstad, B. E., Fredriksen, D. C., Gustafsson, H., Nordin-Bates, S. M., & Knight, C. J. (2023, May). An exploration of reciprocity among teacher and students in female pre-professional ballet education: a shared reality theory perspective. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 8, p. 1148922). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1148922
  • Stornæs, A. V. (2023). Too perfect to be healthy? A quantitative and qualitative study of perfectionism, expectations, and mental health among students aged 13-16 in specialized sports, performing arts and regular lower secondary school. PhD thesis. Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. ISBN: 978-82-502-0613-7. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3096752
  • Stornæs, A. V., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Pettersen, G., Rosenvinge, J. H., & Nordin-Bates, S. M. (2023). Mental health profiles among 13-16-year-old Norwegian talent and mainstream students-A prospective person-centered analytical approach. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 68, 102474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102474
  • Stornæs, A. V., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Pettersen, G., Rosenvinge, J. H., & Nordin-Bates, S. M. (2023). Self-expectations, socially prescribed expectations, and wellness in 14-to 15-year-old athletes, ballet, and music students in Norwegian talent schools—An interview study. The Sport Psychologist, 37(2), 92-105. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2022-0133
  • Säfvenbom, R., Strittmatter, A.M. & Bernardsen, G.P. (2023). Developmental Outcomes for Young People Participating in Informal and Lifestyle Sports: A Scoping Review of the Literature, 2000–2020. Social Sciences 12(5), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12050299
  • Ulset, V. S., Borge, A. I. H., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., & Bekkhus, M. (2023). Link of outdoor exposure in daycare with attentional control and academic achievement in adolescence: Examining cognitive and social pathways. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 85, 101942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101942.
  • Ulset, V. S., Venter, Z., Kozák, M., Nordbø, E. C. A., & von Soest, T. (2023). Increased nationwide use of green spaces in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Environment International, 180, 108190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108190.
  • Ulset, V. S., & Bekkhus, M. (2022). Familie, vennskap, skole og barnehage kan bidra til resiliens og positiv utvikling hos barn og unge. Psykisk oppvekst: Barn og unges psykiske helse. Rådet for psykisk helse. (Fagfellevurdert bokkapittel).
  • Haraldsen, H. M., Abrahamsen, F. E., Solstad, B. E., & Halvari, H. (2021). Narrative tensions in strained junior elite performers’ experiences of becoming elite performers. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 645098. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645098
  • Haraldsen, H. M., Ivarsson, A., Solstad, B. E., Abrahamsen, F. E., & Halvari, H. (2021). Composites of perfectionism and inauthenticity in relation to controlled motivation, performance anxiety and exhaustion among elite junior performers. European journal of sport science, 21(3), 428-438. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2020.1763478
  • Ulset, V. S., Czajkowski, N. O., Staton, S., Smith, S., Pattinson, C., Allen, A., ... & Bekkhus, M. (2021). Environmental light exposure, rest-activity rhythms, and symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity: An observational study of Australian preschoolers. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 73, 101560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101560
  • Curran, T., Hill, A. P., Madigan, D. J., & Stornæs, A. V. (2020). A test of social learning and parent socialization perspectives on the development of perfectionism. Personality and Individual Differences, 160, 109925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109925
  • Erdvik, I. B., Haugen, T., Ivarsson, A., & Säfvenbom, R. (2020). The Temporal Relations of Adolescents’ Basic Need Satisfaction in Physical Education and Global Self-Worth. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0030
  • Haraldsen, H. M., Nordin-Bates, S. M., Abrahamsen, F. E., & Halvari, H. (2020). Thriving, striving, or just surviving? TD learning conditions, motivational processes and well-being among Norwegian elite performers in music, ballet, and sport. Roeper Review, 42(2), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2020.1728796
  • Haraldsen, H. M., Solstad, B. E., Ivarsson, A., Halvari, H., & Abrahamsen, F. E. (2020). Change in basic need frustration in relation to perfectionism, anxiety, and performance in elite junior performers. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 30(4), 754-765. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13614
  • Erdvik, I. B., Haugen, T., Ivarsson, A., & Säfvenbom, R. (2019). Development of basic psychological need satisfaction in physical education. Effects of a two-year programme. Journal for Research in Arts and Sports Education, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.23865/jased.v3.1375
  • Erdvik, I. B., Haugen, T., Ivarsson, A., & Säfvenbom, R. (2019). Global Self-Worth among Adolescents: The Role of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Physical Education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. doi:10.1080/00313831.2019.1600578
  • Løvoll, H.S., Bentzen, M. & Säfvenbom, R. (2019). Development of positive emotions in physical education: A person-centered approach for understanding motivational stability and change. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. Doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1639818
  • Stornæs, A. V., Rosenvinge, J. H., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Pettersen, G., & Friborg, O. (2019). Profiles of perfectionism among adolescents attending specialized elite-and ordinary lower secondary schools: A Norwegian cross-sectional comparative study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2039. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02039
  • Säfvenbom, R. & Stjernvang, G. (2019). Lifestyle sport contexts as self-organized epistemic cultures. Sport, Education and Society, 25 (7) 829-841
  • Rosenvinge, J. H., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Pettersen, G., Martinsen, M., Stornæs, A. V., & Pensgaard, A. M. (2018). Are adolescent elite athletes less psychologically distressed than controls? A cross-sectional study of 966 Norwegian adolescents. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 9, 115–123. https://doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S156658
  • Ulset, V. S., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Bekkhus, M., & Borge, A. I. H. (2017). Time spent outdoors during preschool: Links with children's cognitive and behavioral development. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 52, 69-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.05.007
  • Steder, FB., Stornæs, A. V., & Stubberud, K. (2015). Military Women – The Achilles Heel in Defence Politics? In: F.B Steder (ed). Military Women – The Achilles Heel in Defence Politics? (Chapter 1). Abstrakt forlag., ISBN-10: 8279353704, ISBN-13: 978-8279353706. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277403654
  • Johnsen, B. H., Bartone, P., Sandvik, A. M., Gjeldnes, R., Morken, A. M., Hystad, S. W., & Stornæs, A. V. (2013). Psychological hardiness predicts success in a Norwegian armed forces border patrol selection course. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(4), 368-375. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12046

Participants

Projects

Published May 5, 2025 1:30 PM - Last modified May 6, 2026 1:13 PM