Sheri Madigan

Dr. Sheri Madigan

PhD

Positions

Chair: SSHRC Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development

Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology

Full Member

Hotchkiss Brain Institute

Full Member

Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education

Child Health & Wellness Researcher

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Owerko Centre

Contact information

Background

Educational Background

Bachelor of Science Psychology, Trent University, 1999

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 2015

Doctorate of Philosophy Clinical Psychology, University of Western Ontario, 2007

Master of Arts - Masters Developmental Psychology, University of Western Ontario, 2001

Postdoctoral Fellowship Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 2010

Research

Areas of Research

Child Development
Cognitive Development
Determinants of Health
Maternal Health
Activities

My research focuses on determinants of social, emotional and cognitive development in early childhood. Child development is determined by multiple sources of influences, including those operating within the individual child (e.g. perinatal factors, genetics, temperament), within the family context (e.g. parenting, marital conflict, parental attachment history and experiences of early adversity) as well as processes embedded in the broader social context (e.g. socio-economic status, social networks). The overarching goal of my research is to examine how and why these nested layers of influence contribute to children's healthy developmental trajectories, or alternatively, serve to undermine children's development. My research uses a variety of methods (e.g. observational assessments, survey data, structured interviews) and capitalizes on multiple statistical methods as a function of the questions under consideration (eg. meta-analyses, mediation and moderation, trajectory analyses, multilevel models, path analyses, and individual participant data reviews).

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Awards

  • CIHR Brain Star Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2017
  • Emerging Researcher Award, The University of Calgary. 2017
  • Tier II Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Government of Canada. 2020

In the News

  • The Minefield of Talking With Your Children About Sexting. The Wall Street Journal. (2018)