Josefina Sala Roca

Josefina Sala Roca is a Professor at the Department of Educational Theories and Social Pedagogy, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research focuses on youth transitioning from foster care systems, socio-emotional development, and employability competencies. She leads the Grup de Recerca en Infància i Adolescència en Risc Social (IARS), conducting longitudinal studies like the CALEAMI project tracking foster youth's transition to adulthood. Recent work emphasizes social support networks for marginalized youth, gender-based violence prevention, and migrant integration during crises.

She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from UAB (1999) and has supervised numerous research projects funded by national and European grants. Her methods include scoping reviews and situational judgment tests to assess competency development. Collaborations span institutions in Catalonia, Spain, and international partners like Chicago's programs.

Key research themes include:

• Residential care outcomes
• Youth employability
• Adolescent motherhood
• Cross-cultural social work interventions

Publications frequently appear in journals like Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal and Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology.