One-year post-doctoral fellowship available starting September 2022

In partnership with Mitacs, Mental Health Agency of Canada, and Child Development Institute, a one-year post-doctoral fellowship is available starting September 2022. The objective of this fellowship is to help understand whether an evidence-based, early intervention program (Stop Now And Plan [SNAP]) that focuses on building parent/caregiver-child-relationships and child emotion regulation and self-control skills improves outcomes for children with high callous-unemotional (CU) traits.

The ideal candidate will have a PhD in clinical-developmental, clinical, developmental, or related areas. They will also have experience in understanding developmental psychopathology and/or treatment outcome research, particularly the development and/or treatment of conduct problems in children and adolescents. Other preferred skills include experience in R, Mplus or other databases and knowledge of longitudinal data analysis.

Tasks will include secondary data analysis, preparing manuscripts, assisting in grant preparation, and consultation with the clinical and research team at Child Development Institute. The position will be supervised by Dr. Debra Pepler (�첥��Ƶ) and Dr. Stephanie Craig (University of Guelph).

We offer a competitive salary and flexible start date. For more information please email Dr. Craig at scraig@sfu.ca.

If interested, please submit a CV and letter of interest by August 12, 2022 to scraig@sfu.ca.

View or download the pdf version below.

Effects of Historical Coercive Control, Historical Violence, and Lawyer Representation on Post-Separation Male Partner Violence Against Mother Litigants Who Participated in Adversarial Family Court Proceedings

What background information do you need to know?

Research has found that for mothers who choose to separate from violent male partners, this separation can increase the risk of male partner violence resulting in serious injury or femicide (Ellis, 2017, Ellis et al., 2015, Richards, 2009). Numerous studies also reveal a positive association between participation in adversarial family court proceedings and several adverse outcomes, such as violence and abuse against mother litigants. Additionally, patterns of coercive control by male partners have been found to increase the likelihood of adverse post-separation harm inflicted upon mothers.

What was the aim of this research?

The aim of this study was to evaluate associations between historical male partner violence and lawyer representation and post-separation male partner violence and coercive control against mother litigants participating in adversarial family court proceedings. 

What did the researchers do?

Staff at two women’s shelters administered a questionnaire to 40 former residents who had been represented by lawyers and reported participating in contested custody and access proceedings.

Due to limited sample size, the researchers used descriptive statistics, correlations, and t-tests (as opposed to logistic regression) to evaluate the data.

What did the researchers find?

The researchers highlight two noteworthy findings. First, the data demonstrated a decrease in mother litigant reports of physical violence requiring a visit to hospital following separation.

Second, 97.5% of all 40 separated mother litigants who experienced historical coercive control by their male partners reported experiencing coercive control post-separation “most/some of the time” by these same male partners. This study did not find an association between lawyer representation (measured by type of lawyer, age of lawyer, number of lawyers, and perceived lawyer capability) and post-separation violence. However, they note that the small sample size as a limitation.

How can this research be used?

These findings led the authors to recommend the following:  

• That “a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour” be included in the definition of family violence in Canada’s Divorce Act.
• That family court judges consider ongoing historical violence and coercive control be included among factors to be considered by family court judges in determining the best interest of the child.
• That the study be replicated to evaluate its reproducibility.

About the researchers:

¹�첥��Ƶ, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

¹Desmond Ellis, Professor Emeritus, LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research, Faculty of Health

¹Tanice Lewis, Graduate Student, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health

¹Taryn Nepon, Postgraduate Student, LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research

Citation

Ellis, D., Lewis, T., & Nepon, T. (2021). Effects of historical coercive control, historical violence,
       and lawyer representation on post-separation male partner violence against mother litigants who
       participated in adversarial family court proceedings. Violence Against Women, 27(9), 1191-1210.

Community Journey of Change Through Relational Determinants of Health

What is the research about?

This research concerns developing a model that maps Indigenous communities’ journeys from the cycle of violence arising through relational determinants of health. This project involved the study of community mobilization processes to highlight pathways for moving away from historical harm and systemic violence and approach a place of wellness that is relational.

Previous programs had a focus on building awareness and capacity to promote safe environments for the healthy development of children and youth. Adult programs focused on the view that adults in the community have a responsibility to create safety for children and youth. Feedback from communities signaled that the workshops alone did not contribute to reduced violence within the community. This feedback led to the development of community mobilization process.

Programs seldom offered the advocacy and allyship needed to move beyond the harms and systemic barriers to enable communities to connect to living in a healthy manner in cultural wellness. Additionally, a healthy relational environment means the wellbeing of the whole community whether the members are urban, rural, or remote.

Research on the determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ health needs to extend beyond purely social determinants of health. In current literature there are 3 shortcomings: 1) colonialism is not accounted for as a determinant of Indigenous health, 2) Indigenous health should be examined as an unique area requiring different perspectives, and 3) literature on social determinants of Indigenous health has been primarily written by non-Indigenous authors.

What did the researchers do?

Community mobilization processes were studied in 5 Indigenous communities across 8 years. First, respectful partnerships were created with each community. The communities guided the research team in recognizing their need for sharing understanding, and self-documentation of experienced harms. To support, this a compilation of over 1,000 sources from across Canada were utilized to create a timeline of harmful historical experiences. From these sources a Community Journey of Change (CJC) model was developed as a guide to travel away from 15 layers of harm and towards a journey of wellness. The timeline of harmful historical experiences was further utilized to depict 3 categories that form the CJC: 1) the Cycle of Violence, 2) the Circle of Wellness, and 3) the Relational Determinants of Health. Each category was subdivided into 4 domains: physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional.   

What do you need to know?

Relational Determinants of Health include foundational relationships with the land, culture, ceremony, and language. The CJC model highlights the relational processes that can be constructive for recovery from the harms and disruptions of colonization. Historical traumas for Indigenous peoples include: displacement from Traditional lands, devastation by disease, subjugation under the Indian Act, banning of cultural practices, forced attendance at residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and racist and systemic harms across generations. 

What did the researchers find?

This research identified 6 considerations for creating an ethical space to develop policies, programs, and services that support communities in their journeys of change: 1) Look to Indigenous leaders for organizational alignment and Indigenous program development, 2) Respect self-determination and support community vision and actions, 3) Ensure safety at all levels and for all participants, 4) Work to re-integrate culture, 5) Promote cohesion and culture within the community, and 6) Leads systems change.

How can you use this research?

The Community Journey of Change model provides guidance for researchers working with Indigenous communities to attend to the layers of harm from colonization. This can help create culturally relevant pathways to restore the relational determinants of health. This model will inform policy, programs and services for Indigenous communities. It is also a step forward for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.

About the researchers

S. Cardinal, MAL, Director of Indigenous Relations, Canadian Red Cross.

D. Pepler, O.C., Ph.D., C. Psych., Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, �첥��Ƶ, Toronto, Canada.

Citation

Cardinal, S., & Pepler, D. (2021). Community journey of change through relational determinants of health. The International Indigenous Policy Journal,��12(3), 1-16.

Keywords

Violence prevention, Indigenous wellness, relational determinants of health, Indigenous communities

Maternal fluoride exposure, fertility and birth outcomes: The MIREC cohort

Carly Goodman, Meaghan Hall, Rivka Green, Christine Till

What do you need to know?

Fluoride can occur naturally in freshwater and is sometimes added to public water supplies for dental protection. High levels of fluoride exposure in pregnant women (more than 1.5 mg/L) have been associated with adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. However, little is known about the effect of community water fluoridation on pregnancy and birth outcomes.

What is this research about?

The main goal of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal fluoride exposure, fertility, and birth outcomes among a group of pregnant Canadian women living with and without community water fluoridation.

What did the researchers do?

This study used data from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study, which recruited pregnant women from 10 cities across Canada.  Fluoride exposure during pregnancy was measured in three ways: 1) maternal urinary fluoride concentrations averaged across trimesters (for 1566 women); 2) water fluoride concentration (for 1370 women); 3) fluoride intake based on self-reported consumption of water, tea, and coffee, adjusted for body weight (for 1192 women).

The researchers also assessed data on fertility, infant birth weight, gestational age, preterm birth (less than 37 weeks), and whether infants were small-for gestational age. They examined the relationship between fluoride exposure, fertility, and these birth outcomes.

What did the researchers find?

In this Canadian cohort, it was found that fluoride exposure during pregnancy was not associated with fertility, preterm birth, birth weight, gestational age, or infants being small for gestational age. Notably, the majority of women in this cohort were exposed to water fluoride levels lower than 0.7 mg/L, which is the standard water fluoridation level. 

The researchers note that these results are inconsistent with pre-existing studies, and that this may be due to differences in the group characteristics, research methodology, and low levels of fluoride exposure.

How can you use this research?

These findings are an important step toward better understanding the safety of fluoride exposure for pregnant women. To the researchers’ knowledge, this was the first study to examine the relationship between maternal exposure to fluoride and both birth outcomes and fertility for women living in communities with and without water fluoridation. Strengths of this study included the use of several measures of fluoride exposure, the use of a large cohort, and controlling for many confounding factors.

About the researchers:

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, �첥��Ƶ, Toronto, Canada

Carly Goodman, Meaghan Hall, Rivka Green, Christine Till

Pediatrics and Environmental Health, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, USA

Richard Hornung

School of Dentistry, Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA

Esperanza Angeles Martinez-Mier

Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Bruce Lanphear

Citation

Goodman, C., Hall, M., Green, R., Hornung, R., Martinez-Mier, E. A., Lanphear, B., & Till, C.
       (2022). Maternal fluoride exposure, fertility and birth outcomes: The MIREC
       cohort. Environmental Advances, 7, 100135.

Effectiveness Trail of Spaced Learning in Elementary Classrooms

Dr. Vanessa Foot-Seymour & Dr. Melody Wiseheart

What is this research about?

The main goal of this study was to see whether the robust spacing effects seen in the laboratory environments could also be seen in the classroom under real-world conditions, using curriculum-based materials involving critical thinking. 

What do you need to know?

The spacing effect is a cognitive phenomenon whereby memory for to-be learned material is better when a fixed amount of study time is spread across multiple learning sessions instead of creamed into a more condensed time period. This research aims to explore the effectiveness of this method with real curriculum content as well as real teachers.

What did the researchers do?

A total of 1054 students were recruited for the website credibility lessons, from 16 participating schools across York Region District School Board. There were 42 participating classrooms, each with its own homeroom teacher.

A between-subjects design was used, where classes were randomly assigned to either the spaced or massed condition, stratified to ensure that there were an equal number of grades and locations for each condition. The massed condition was used as a control. Students in both conditions were given an identical set of lessons but received the lessons daily (massed: three days in a row) or weekly (the same day of the week for three weeks).

Materials were introduced to students online, with brief, pre-recorded lessons. After the videos were complete, students went on a self-led exploration of the website, completed the corresponding checklist, and shared their findings with the teacher via a discussion. Teaching course material by showing videos is standard teaching practice—teachers were responsible for circulating, managing student behavior, answering questions, and leading the discussion.

What did the researchers find?

Researchers were surprised that during the final test, students in the spaced condition chose not to use some of the categories they knew, when explaining their ratings in a paragraph form. Meanwhile, students in the massed condition used as many categories as they recalled, while writing rating justification paragraphs, demonstrating concordance between knowledge and usage. Interestingly, researchers found that students in the spaced condition used fewer categories than they knew about. 

How can you use this research?

For practitioners, it is important to consider the implementation of the curriculum whenever planning long-term learning goals for the school year. If the goal is for students to retain as much information as possible, teachers need to be aware of cognitive strategies like the spacing effect, so that they can make small changes to their teaching practice to help students become more successful.

Researchers should run effectiveness trials with different subject materials and a wide range of measurements. Critical thinking was a major focus in the current study, which is why website evaluation was used. This choice served to enhance recruitment because it added value to teaching programs that were already in place. By using additional types of curriculum-based subject material, the results that u saw during the fact learning measures can be more fully evaluated and used to decide if spacing should be recommended in a real-world classroom setting. 

About the researchers

Department of Psychology, �첥��Ƶ, Toronto, Canada
Vanessa Foot-Seymour & Melody Wiseheart

LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, �첥��Ƶ, Toronto, Canada
Vanessa Foot-Seymour & Melody Wiseheart

Citation |

Foot-Seymour, V., Wiseheart, M. Judging the credibility of websites: an effectiveness trial of the spacing effect in the elementary classroom. Cogn. Research 7, 5 (2022).

Memory at Play: Examining Relations Between Episodic and Semantic Memory in a Children’s Museum

What do you need to know?

Children’s semantic memory (knowledge about the world) influenced the accuracy of children’s memory for past events. Researchers found age-related improvements in children’s semantic knowledge and that children’s language abilities (knowledge about the meaning of words) predicted accuracy of memory for past events.

What is this research about?

Episodic memory involves memory for events that have occurred at a particular time and place. Semantic memory includes the retrieval of facts, concepts, and general knowledge. These two memory systems are thought to be parallel yet partially overlapping. Episodic and semantic memory systems both undergo developmental changes throughout childhood. However, relatively little is known about the relation between these memory systems during childhood, especially early to middle childhood.

What did the researchers do?

The researchers examined the episodic and semantic memory systems, and their relation, through the lens of development. Specifically, the researchers sought to explore this relation by examining how a specific aspect of semantic memory, semantic knowledge about spatial locations, may influence children’s episodic memory for events and their location.

A total of 87 children aged 5-7 years old engaged in an episodic memory task in a children’s museum designed as a town in order to harness a naturalistic setting rich in contextual details. This use of a naturalistic setting is less common (compared to lab-based studies) within memory research. Children participated in events which were semantically congruent or incongruent with the spatial locations (e.g., sorting mail at a post office vs. grocery store), and their memory for the events and their spatial locations were later tested. A novel semantic interview task was also conducted to assess the children’s semantic knowledge about real-world target locations, and the developmental trajectory of this knowledge. They then examined how performance on the episodic memory task and the semantic interview task were related. A language-based task was also included to parallel how prior research has examined the relation between episodic and semantic memory systems in children.

What did the researchers find?

Experimentally, children’s spatial semantic memory was found to influence spatial episodic memory overall. Specifically, accuracy for memory for locations (i.e., spatial episodic memory) was influenced by the experimental manipulation such that children more accurately remembered the spatial location for the event when there was a semantic match between the location and the event, relative to when there was no match (i.e., incongruent condition). When children made errors in the incongruent condition, younger children were more likely to incorrectly choose the location that matched their semantic knowledge. Novel semantic interviewing revealed age-related improvements in children’s semantic knowledge of locations across early middle childhood. Additional analyses were conducted to better understand factors that influence or drive children’s episodic memory development. Age and the language-based assessment of semantic knowledge were found to predict an aspect of episodic memory.

How can you use this research?

This research was novel in numerous ways. Few studies to date having explored the relation between episodic and semantic memory in early middle childhood amidst a typically developing sample. The results highlighted the utility of conducting research on episodic and semantic memory in a naturalistic setting.Studies conducted in naturalistic settings have the benefit of bringing research into the active, social context in which learning organically occurs. This study thus supported the perspective that naturalistic settings may allow for greater memory performance in children. This study also contributed a novel method of examining children’s semantic memory via a narrative interview task designed to assess what children know about locations. This contribution is important as semantic memory has most often been assessed with language-based tasks and little is known about children’s knowledge of space.

About the researchers

Sarah J. Sipe, Graduate Research Assistant at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Thanujeni Pathman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at �첥��Ƶ.

Citation

Sipe, S. J., & Pathman, T. (2021). Memory at Play: Examining Relations Between Episodic and Semantic Memory in a Children's Museum. Child Development, 92(3), e270–e284. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13484

TikTok says it’s cracking down on dangerous challenges. Will it be enough?

TikTokers say more should be done to stop harmful content. You’ve probably noticed challenges on TikTok that encourage kids to do dangerous or harmful things. TikTokers like 14-year-old Kate Roman from Toronto, Ontario, say the platform needs to do more to get rid of those posts. “I don’t think what they’re doing is enough,” Kate told CBC Kids News.

This week TikTok tried to address that. The social media platform hired a company to look into those issues for them. And on Nov. 17, TikTok announced the findings of that report, and a plan to tackle the problem. But some people say TikTok isn’t meeting their expectations around safety, and they have doubts about the company’s plans to fix things.

Netflix and ice cream: How to make the COVID-19 vaccine for kids as pain-free as possible

Be honest that it’s going to hurt, but not even for as long as it takes to count to 10. Save up that Netflix show they’re bingeing, to use as a distraction. Have them blow bubbles to prompt deep breaths. Buy ice cream afterward.

Health Canada’s decision to approve COVID-19 vaccines for children could come as early as this week. Fully vaccinating the country’s roughly 2.7 million five- to 11-year-olds will be key to ending the pandemic. According to Canada’s public-health officer, children under 12 now account for the largest proportion of new infections in the country.

Research will help determine the safety of chronic fluoride exposure in developing brains

Emerging research from �첥��Ƶ aims to address rising concerns about the safety of early-life exposure to fluoride, and whether chronic exposure to fluoride at current population levels could contribute to lower IQ and behavioural problems in children.

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health, Christine Till, and her team, are collaborating with Professor Bruce Lanphear at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and the Manish Arora at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, to measure fluoride exposure levels using baby teeth collected in a Canadian birth cohort. Tooth dentin – the tissue that lies beneath enamel – forms between 16 weeks’ gestation up to 2.5 years of age. As teeth mineralize, they accumulate chemicals that have been ingested, including fluoride from drinking water. Using modern techniques, the team will extract a historical record of exposure by measuring fluoride in layers of hydroxyapatite, similar to how tree rings accumulate to indicate the passage of time.

The Crying Clinic: Increasing accessibility to Infant Mental Health services for immigrant parents at risk for peripartum depression

What is the research about?

The Crying Clinic (CC) is a pilot initiative which aimed to reduce barriers and stigma related to using traditional infant mental health services for immigrant parents at risk of peripartum depression (PPD). The CC is a walk-in service that supports maternal well-being and healthy parent-infant relationships, located in a culturally diverse Canadian community.

Psychotherapeutic interventions for mothers with PPD and their infants have been shown to improve maternal depression, parenting stress, and interactions with their infants. However, immigrant families face significant barriers when it comes to accessing these services. One of the major shortcomings is that any mental health services fail to take cultural background into consideration, further contributing to these barriers.

The clinic’s name was chosen to attract highly stressed parents. Infant crying is a salient cue, which is used by infants to signal a need for comfort and safety. Often, parents who are vulnerable to depression, and report  higher instances of infant crying. Additionally, CC was chosen to reduce the bias, stigmas and misunderstandings associated with the term “infant mental health”.   

What did the researchers do?

The researchers designed an accessible innovative walk-in service located at an established community-based Infant mental health program. The CC interventionwas structured around a brief, one-session walk in service intended to act as a gateway for existing infant mental health services. The CC protocol was informed by best practice Infant Mental Health principles, and cultural literacy. The session goals were to provide families with a solution-focused assessment, and relational and psychoeducational intervention for infant and toddler behaviours such as crying.    

What do you need to know?

PPD is the second leading cause of disability among women during their childbearing years. Immigrant parents are at a high risk of PPD due to pre- and postmigration stressors. This mental health concern not only impacts mother-child relationships, but entire families and immigrant communities. Barriers to mental health services for migrant mothers may include culture shock, acclimatization to unfamiliar systems, and challenges with a new language. This study demonstrates creative ways to overcoming the challenge of engaging highly vulnerable parents from culturally diverse backgrounds.

What did the researchers find?

The researchers found 3 key findings in this study. First, the name and format of the CC contributed to accessibility for newly settled families who reported limited peer and family support. Secondly, participant families reported that CC sessions recognized and respected their culture and beliefs, as well their individuality. Finally, the design of the CC (accessibility, visibility, ease of physical access, etc.), may reduce stigmas and barriers for infant mental health treatment services in immigrant communities.

How can you use this research?

While vulnerable immigrant groups have more barriers to accessing infant mental health services, this study demonstrates creative ways of overcoming and addressing these challenges. This study shows that gateway models like the CC have the potential to enhance traditional infant mental health programs for highly vulnerable parents from diverse cultural backgrounds. Thus, provides a useful reference for future studies on accessible infant mental health services for immigrant families.      

About the researchers

Y. Bohr, C. Psych., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, �첥��Ƶ, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, Toronto, Canada.

M. Bimm, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, �첥��Ƶ, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, Toronto, Canada.

K. Bint Misbah, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, �첥��Ƶ, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, Toronto, Canada.

R. Perrier, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.

Y. Lee, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, �첥��Ƶ, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, Toronto, Canada.

L. Armour, Manager Brief Services (formerly Therapist, Infant Mental Health Team), Strides (formerly Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Services), Toronto, Canada.

N. Sockett-DiMarco, Manager, Counselling Services, Strides (formerly Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Services), Toronto, Canada.

Citation

Bohr, Y., Bimm, M., Bint Misbah, K., Perrier, R., Lee, Y., Armour, L., & Sockett‐DiMarco, N. (2021). The Crying Clinic: Increasing accessibility to Infant Mental Health services for immigrant parents at risk for peripartum depression. Infant Mental Health Journal, 42(1), 140-156.

Keywords

Barriers to treatment, immigrant parents, infant mental health service, peripartum depression