Degree in progress:

PhD Clinical Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University

Research interests:

Gabby’s research interests involve parental emotion socialization, children’s emotion regulation and expressivity, and the development of internalizing problems (e.g., depression). She is particularly interested in how parents influence their children’s expression and regulation of positive emotions. For her master’s thesis, Gabby investigated the transmission of depressive symptoms from mothers to children, focusing on maternal socialization of infants’ positive affect as a mechanism of transmission.

Research support:

2023–2027   SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, $80,000 over 48 months

2020–2021  Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s (CGS-M) Award, $17,500

Presentations:

Waters, T. E. A., Gu, Y., Zhu, V., Jamieson, B., Lim, D., Schmitt, G. A., & Atkinson, L. (2023, March 23–25). Attachment expectations moderate links between social support and adjustment during the transition to motherhood [Paper presentation]. SRCD 2023 Biennial Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.

McCarthy, M., Paré-Ruel, M.-P., & Schmitt, G. A. (2022, June 15–16). Meta-analysis: Aggression subtypes and stress biomarkers [Poster presentation]. Development 2022, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

McCarthy, M., Paré-Ruel, M.-P., & Schmitt, G. A. (2021, May 26–27). Aggression and stress dysregulation in youth: A prospective meta-analysis [Poster presentation]. Association for Psychological Science 2021 Virtual Convention, Washington, DC, United States.

Schmitt, G. A., Dickson, D. J., Stack, D. M., & Serbin, L. A. (2020, July 6–August 28). Maternal responses to positive affect predict immediate and long-term changes in child expressivity [Poster presentation]. 81st Canadian Psychological Association Annual National Convention, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Schmitt, G. A., Dickson, D. J., & Stack, D. M. (2020, May 29). Maternal responses to children’s positive affect: The immediate processes of emotion socialization [Oral presentation]. FRQSC Emotional Competence Research Team Symposium, Montréal, Québec, Canada. 

Schmitt, G. A., Dickson, D. J., & Stack, D. M. (2020, February 8). Maternal responses to positive affect predict immediate and long-term changes in child expressivity [Poster presentation]. Centre for Research in Human Development (CRDH) Annual Conference, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Schmitt, G. A., Dickson, D. J., & Stack, D. M. (2019, April 12). Children’s emotional expressions following maternal validation and invalidation of positive emotions [Oral presentation]. FRQSC Emotional Competence Research Team Symposium, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Schmitt, G. A., Dickson, D. J., & Stack, D. M. (2019, April 5). Children’s emotional expressions following maternal validation and invalidation of positive affect: Associations with self-esteem [Oral presentation]. Psychology Undergraduate Research Exposition, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.