Prof. Zhang Wenxin is a professor at Shandong Normal University, Chair Professor at Shandong University, and doctoral supervisor, chief of the psychology discipline, dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Shandong Normal University, and director of Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Mental Health. His academic honors include leader of the “Huang Danian-style Teaching Team”, expert enjoying special government allowances from the State Council, “Taishan Scholars” Distinguished Professors of Shandong Province. His concurrent duties include Member of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Psychology Programs under the Ministry of Education, Fellow of the Chinese Psychological Society (CPS), Standing Council Member of the CPS, and the chair of the Professional Committee of the Prevention and Intervention of School Bullying and Violence branch under the CPS.

Professor Zhang’s research focuses on developmental psychology, specifically school bullying prevention and intervention, psychological and behavioral development of children and adolescents, developmental psychopathology, and developmental behavioral genetics. He has led more than 20 major national research projects, including a subproject from the Science and Technology Innovation 2030 – “Brain Science and Brain-Like Research” Major Project, Major Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research funded by the Ministry of Education, and multiple National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) grants. He has published more than 260 papers in authoritative international and domestic journals, including top-tier journals such as Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Child Development, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and Acta Psychological Sinica. Five research finding incorporated into the textbook Adolescence (McGraw-Hill, 12th & 13th Eds.). His research has earned more than 20 awards including the Ministry of Education Awards for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements (First, Second, and Third Prizes), National Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Educational Science Research (First and Second Prizes), and Shandong Provincial Social Science Outstanding Achievement Awards (First Prizes).

His internationally recognized pioneering work includes leading developmental behavioral genetics research in China, systematically revealing the environmental sensitivity of multi-system genes, and being the first internationally to propose and validate the dynamic developmental perspective on gene-environment (G×E) interactions, deepening the understanding of G×E mechanisms in developmental psychopathology. He significantly enriched the academic framework of Chinese child and adolescent development by establishing China’s first large-scale longitudinal study of Chinese children and adolescents (LSCCA) database, which revealed developmental characteristics and dynamic associations of social behaviors and psychopathological problems, offering original insights into developmental continuity, individual differences, and cascades effects in the developmental process. He also established a typological model of Chinese parenting styles, first internationally identifying the culturally distinct “Strict-Warm Parenting” style among Chinese parents, providing profound insights into cultural differences in psychological development.

Professor Zhang actively serves national needs. He pioneered school bullying research in China, revealing its characteristics and mechanisms, and developed the effective “China 3H School Bullying Prevention and Intervention Program”. He established institutions such as the Shandong Student Mental Health Development Center, which plays a leading role in students mental health monitoring, teacher training, and policy consultation, advancing the provincial service system. His policy impact includes 11 advisory reports adopted by national bodies like the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Ministry of Education, and as principal researcher for China’s Key Competencies Framework for Primary Students, he contributed 7 outcomes adopted into the Compulsory Education Curriculum Standards (2022).