Axes and research program

Chaire Richelieu de recherche sur la jeunesse, l’enfance et la famille explores issues relating to experiences of adversity, trauma, child development and resilience.

Experiences of adversity during childhood, such as abuse or neglect, are common, all too common. In Canada, one in three children is the victim of abuse or is exposed to domestic violence, and one in five lives in poverty.

Experiences of adversity are sources of toxic stress that threaten the health and development of children and adolescents. They are associated with multiple, severe and complex consequences on their development.

This is what we call complex trauma.

Trauma-informed care is a social response to complex trauma. It aims to ensure that organizational policies and clinical practices take it into account to better meet the needs of young people. It invites us to “adjust our lens” and to take a different look at the difficulties of young people and the way to help them.

The work of the Chair revolves around three objectives:

1. Improve knowledge about trauma and child development
2. Develop and evaluate innovative trauma-informed practices
3. Transfer knowledge to improve practices and support the resilience of children and adolescents 

Axis 1: Improve knowledge about trauma and child development 

This axis aims to better understand the experiences of adversity, their consequences on the development of children and adolescents, as well as the mechanisms explaining this association. As these experiences are associated with multiple, severe and complex consequences on development, a range of developmental spheres are considered, drawing on the notion of complex trauma.

Axis 2: Develop and evaluate innovative trauma-informed practices

This axis aims to design, implement and evaluate innovative trauma-informed practices, in partnership with practice settings. Indeed, there is a relative lack of research on interventions with children and adolescents exposed to experiences of adversity, for it to maximize the effects of these interventions in order to truly promote the well-being and support the resilience of youth.

Axis 3: Transfer knowledge to improve practices

This axis aims to raise community awareness and ensure dialogue between the teaching, research and practice communities. The aim is to improve practices and support the resilience of children and adolescents.

Find out more about each of the research axes and the projects associated with them by clicking on the title of each axis above.