Annekatrin Steinhoff

Dr. Annekatrin Steinhoff is an Assistant Professor at the University of Bern's Medical Faculty and affiliated with the University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Her research focuses on youth mental health, self-harm, risk-taking behaviors, and developmental biopsychosocial mechanisms. She leads an SNSF-funded project investigating self-harm in adolescents and collaborates with the z-proso International Research Network (zIReN). As an Associate Editor at The Journal of Early Adolescence, she contributes to interdisciplinary academic discourse.

Dr. Steinhoff holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Münster and conducted postdoctoral research at the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development (University of Zurich) from 2015–2022. Her work integrates longitudinal cohort studies, biomarkers (e.g., hair cortisol), and social science perspectives to understand adolescent development. Key themes include pandemic mental health, substance use patterns, maternal depressive symptoms’ intergenerational impacts, and the role of early adolescence in shaping lifelong resilience.

Her research has been published in high-impact journals across psychology, public health, and sociology. She has received a prestigious SNSF Starting Grant and maintains collaborative ties with institutions like the Max-Planck Institute for Human Development and Wilfrid Laurier University.