Nicole Smolla

Research areas

University Affiliation (Position or Role)

Professor in charge of clinical teaching
Department of psychiatry
Université de Montréal

Profile

Nicole Smolla is interested in factors (e.g., poverty and single parenthood) associated with mental disorders among children and adolescents, as well as the socially maladjusted nature of contributing factors among the parents of children followed in pediatric psychiatry clinics. She also collaborates on projects testing the validity of pictographic mental health evaluation tools in children and adolescents. More recently, she has developed her expertise in the area of factors associated with behavioural and developmental disorders in pre-school age children.

Types of Research

• Pediatric psychiatry epidemiology, both in clinics and in the population
• Psychometrics

Research Interests 

• Development and testing of evaluation tools for mental disorders (versions of Dominic for school-age children and adolescents)
• Research on factors associated with developmental disorders (language and motor skill development disorders) among children under six who are seen at a psychiatric clinic
• Research on risk factors and interactions among these factors based on data from the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey (QCMHS) of six- to 14-year olds

Methods Used

• Representative population samples
• Clinical samples (consecutive registrations)
• Use of standardized tools

Current Projects

• Development of a database at the Clinique psychiatrique de la petite enfance
• Study on the metric qualities of Dominic Interactive for adolescents aged 12 to 15
• Comparative study on birth conditions among young children with language and motor disorders

Recents publications

Noel, D., Keroack, J., Tremblay, G., Smolla, N., & Berthiaume, C. (2011). Personality disorders screening in people with developmental disability. Revue Quebecoise de Psychologie Vol, 32(1), 9-26.

Bergeron, L., Smolla, N., Valla, J.-P., St-Georges, M., Berthiaume, C., Piche, G., Barbe, C. (2010). Psychometric properties of a pictorial instrument for assessing psychopathology in youth aged 12 to 15 years: The Dominic Interactive for Adolescents. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry / La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie Vol, 55(4), 211-221. Pubmed

Bergeron, L., Valla, J.P., Smolla, N., et al. (2007). "Correlates of Depressive Disorders in the Quebec General Population 6 to 14 Years of Age." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 35: 459-474.

Moss, E., Smolla, N., et al. (2006). "Attachment and Behavior Problems in Middle Childhood as Reported by Adult and Child Informants." Development and Psychopathology 18(2): 425-444.

Moss, E., Smolla, N., et al. (2006). "Attachement et problèmes de comportements intériorisés et extériorisés auto-rapportés à la période scolaire." Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement 38(2): 142-157.

Smolla, N., Valla, J.P., Smolla, N., et al. (2004). "Development and Reliability of a Pictorial Mental Health Interview for Adolescent aged 12 to 16 Years." Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 49(12): 828-837.