Stephanie Craig
Background
Stephanie Craig is interested in the development and treatment of severe behavioural and emotional problems in children and youth. She is particularly interested in the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of empathy, callousness) in children and youth. Dr. Craig is working to understand the role of attachment and emotion regulation in the development of primary and secondary CU traits. She is also examining the effect of an attachment-based intervention (Connect Parent Group) and emotion regulation-focused intervention (Stop Now and Plan) on CU traits for youth aged 8-18. The ultimate goal of this line of research is to inform effective interventions for children and youth with primary and secondary CU traits.
Dr. Craig is also the Primary Investigator on the Teens @ Home During COVID project. Alongside her Dr. Ames at the University of Victoria, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Canada (BBBSC), Dr. Craig has surveyed youth at various points in the pandemic to understanding current functioning. Her current project with BBBS will interview mentors and mentees to understand mentorship during the pandemic supported teens. In this project, Dr. Craig also aims to understand whether inequities impact access to supportive relationships, such as mentors, and subsequent behavioural and mental health difficulties. Dr. Craig and her colleagues’ objective is to understand how we can support healthy relationships that then act as a protective factor for adolescent behavioural and mental health problems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education
Dr. Craig completed her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology with a Child focus at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC. She completed her CPA internship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She then completed a CIHR funded post-doctoral fellowship at York University with Dr. Debra Pepler.
Research
Dr. Craig’s current research is focused on understanding the development and treatment of children and youth with severe behaviour and emotional problems. One line of her research examines affect regulation strategies as a potential mechanism underlying adolescents’ severe behaviour problems, including the development of callous-unemotional traits. A second line of her research focuses on affect regulation and the parent-child relationship as mechanisms of change across two evidence-based interventions for aggressive children and teens. Finally, Dr. Craig leads the Teens @ Home project, a collaboration with her colleagues at York University, the University of Victoria, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Canada aimed at understand how healthy relationships (e.g., with parents or mentors) can help protect youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. By understanding the underlying mechanisms of severe behaviour and emotional disorders, we are able to better target our interventions and create more effective treatment for children and youth.
Selected Publications
* denotes a student under my supervision
Craig, S.G., Ames, M.E., *Bondi, B.C, & Pepler, D.J, (2022) Canadian Adolescents’ Mental Health and Substance Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations with COVID-19 Stressors. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/kprd9
Craig, S.G., Goulter, N., Andrade, B.A., & McMahon, R.J. (2021) Developmental precursors of primary and secondary callous unemotional traits in youth. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01271-x
Craig, S.G., *Robillard, C.L., Turner, B.J., & Ames, M.E.. (2021). Examining the effects of family stress and maltreatment during COVID-19 on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms: The role of affect dysregulation. Journal of Family Violence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00320-2
Craig, S.G., *Bondi, B.C., *Diplock, B.D. &, Pepler, D.J., (2021) Building Effective Research-Clinical Collaborations in Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health: A Developmental-Relational Model of Co-Creation. Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, 13(1). doi:10.19157/JTSP.issue.13.01.06 https://natsap.org/Public/Research/Journal_Of_Therapeutic_Schools_and_Programs/Volumes/VOL13/Articles/Developmental-Relational-Model.aspx
Pasalich, D., Craig, S.G., Goulter, N., O’Donnell, K.A., Sierra Hernandez, C. & Moretti, M.M. (2021) Patterns and Predictors of Different Youth Responses to Attachment-Based Parent Intervention. Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 0(0), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2021.1923022
Craig, S.G., Sierra Hernandez, C., Pepler, D.J & Moretti, M.M., (2021) The role of affect dysregulation in the relationship between attachment and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 52(5), 818–828. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01059-5
Craig, S.G., Goulter, N., & Moretti, M.M. (2020) Understanding the different pathways to Callous Unemotional Traits: A Systematic Review of Primary and Secondary Variants in Youth. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 24(1), 65–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-020-00329-x
Craig, S.G., *Bondi, B.C., O’Donnell, K.A, Pepler, D.J., & Weiss, M.D., (2020) ADHD and Exposure to Maltreatment in Children and Youth: A Systematic Review of the Past 10 Years. Current Psychiatric Reports, 22(12), 79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01193-w
Craig, S.G., & Moretti, M.M. (2019) Profiles of Primary and Secondary Callous-Unemotional Features in Youth: The Role of Emotion Regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 31(4), 1489–1500. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579418001062
Weiss, M.D., McBride, N.M., Craig, S.G., & Jensen, P. (2018). Conceptual review of measuring functional impairment: Findings from the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 21(4), 155-164. https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmental-2018-300025
Craig, S.G., Davies, G., Schibuk, L., Weiss, M. D., & Hechtman, L. (2015) Long-Term Effects of Stimulant Treatment for ADHD: What Can We Tell Our Patients? Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-015-0039-5
Chapters and Policy Reports
Craig S.G., Ames M.E., *Urusov A., & *Baudin, C. for Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. (April, 2021). Building Bigger Connections: Wave 1 Results. Toronto, Ontario. https://www.teensathomeduringcovid.com/research
Psyc 6000 Developmental Psychopathology
Psyc 2020 Abnormal Psychology
Psyc 4460 Advanced Topics in Clinical & Applied Developmental Psychology