Research Projects
“Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future”.
- Nelson Mandela
Better Together: Identifying Collaborative Research Priorities and Literature Gaps in Child Maltreatment Research
The Better Together project, aims to create partnerships between youth, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers to identify key research priorities to guide the future of child maltreatment treatment, and prevention in Canada. Historically, there has been over-reliance on caregivers’ reports which resulted in biased understanding of child maltreatment experiences. In line with the saying “nothing about us, without us”, capturing the perspective of youth who have experienced abuse and neglect is needed to inform the next meaningful steps in research to make sure it is relevant, efficient, and cost-effective. This project will culminate in a priority setting partnership at which we collaboratively establish the top ten research priorities for child maltreatment research in Canada.
Evaluating and Implementing Early Intervention Programs for Young Children Exposed to Adversity
Our group is leading several projects evaluating and implementing in-person and online early prevention and intervention programs that promote optimal development for infants and young children. The first project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, is examining the preliminary effectiveness of an online parenting program, Make the Connection, for improving caregiver wellbeing and the caregiver-child bond. A second project, funded by a Canadian Institutes for Health Research Mental Health in the Early Years Team Grant, is evaluating the effectiveness of an intensive early intervention program, Breaking the Cycle, for infants and young children exposed to high levels of adversity. These projects will help us understand when, how, and for whom these programs are most effective and how they can be scaled nationally.
Intergenerational Transmission of Childhood Adversity
We examine the impact of early adversity on maternal and child mental health outcomes, specifically the intergenerational transmission of adversity. We have examined the mechanisms by which adversity experienced in childhood relates to both maternal physical and mental health, and the implications of these experiences for children’s mental health. We are currently extending this line of research by examining whether maternal adversity continues to convey risk on children’s mental health outcomes using multiple longitudinal cohort studies in North America. We also have ongoing projects to evaluate and disseminate early intervention programs that interrupt the intergenerational transmission of adversity.
Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Children Exposed to Adversity
Our team is passionate about collaborating with clinicians who are on the ground working with children and families to understand what factors increase risk for mental health difficulties and promote resilience in the face of adversity. In collaboration with children’s mental health services, our research seeks to understand the role of risk and resilience on child trauma symptoms. We have ongoing collaborative projects with the Luna Child Advocacy Centre where we are examining the role of protective factors across the social ecology on children’s mental health outcomes following exposure to adversity.
Equitable Trauma Treatment Access for Children and Families Exposed to Adversity
Our group is interested in identifying effective preventative and intervention approaches for children and families exposed to trauma and adversity. We are currently developing online modules for parents to support their child’s mental health following exposure to a traumatic experience (the COPE Project). Through a co-design process with clinicians, parents, and youth, we have developed the module content and the online prototype is being built. The next step will be to pilot and evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of the modules. The psycho-educational content of the modules is transdiagnostic in nature and could be easily adapted for other patient populations who are exposed to violence or trauma.