Team Members
Digital Child Lab Director
Caroline Fitzpatrick
Canada Research Chair in Digital Media Use by Children and Its Implications for Promoting Togetherness: An Ecosystemic Approach, Professor, Department of Preschool and Elementary Education, Université de Sherbrooke
During my graduate studies in psychology, I learned that social and health inequalities are often rooted in childhood. My interest in better understanding the origins of these inequalities guides my current research. Influenced by ecosystemic and positive youth development theories, my work focuses on the importance of kindergarten preparation for academic success and psychosocial adjustment in primary school. Secondly, I'm interested in the effect of school environments on children's health and well-being. Finally, since the use of screens by children and adolescents today represents an important modifiable life factor, my research addresses the consequences of this use on physical, cognitive and social development.
My interdisciplinary training and collaborations have enabled me to integrate methodological approaches from psychology, education and epidemiology. As a result, my work aims to identify risk and protective factors using longitudinal designs. The ultimate aim of my research is to improve the well-being and health of children and adolescents, and prevent adjustment difficulties, by contributing to the renewal of social policies.
