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Isabelle Thibault

Associate professor, département de psychoéducation, Université de Sherbrooke

Regular member

Training

(2015) Doctorate (Clinical Sciences). Université de Sherbrooke
(2009) Master's degree with thesis (Psychoeducation). Université de Sherbrooke
(2007) Bachelor's (Psychoeducation). Université de Sherbrooke.

Bio

Why are children as young as 9 or 10 so preoccupied with their image that they diet, fast, or exercise excessively to control their appearance? Why do some children and teenagers have normal concerns about their appearance, while others have concerns that take over and affect their adjustment?

These are the issues that excite me and motivate my research. My work focuses on the contributing factors of disordered eating and eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa) in children and adolescents. I am interested in contributing factors, mechanisms and trajectories, because it is possible to act on them to modify developmental pathways. This work falls under Axis 2 of GRISE.

The link between research and intervention is very important to me. I am now a researcher, but I am first and foremost a psychoeducator. I started my career in rehabilitation services in a youth centre and I loved working with this clientele. I am still involved with the CIUSSS de l’Estrie CHUS Eating Disorders Clinic to maintain a link with the field. This association with research allows me to deepen my understanding of the problems, in order to design adjusted interventions, taking into account the reality of practitioners, workers and clients.

Research

Isabelle Thibault (principal investigator), Catherine Bégin, Marie-Pier Gagnon-Girouard, Catherine Laurier, Dominique Meilleur, Caroline Pesant, Marie-Claude Roy, Anne-Marie Tougas (co-applicants). (2020-2024). Children's problematic eating attitudes and behaviors: How and why they develop? Fondation des étoiles - Subvention de recherche pédiatrique.

Isabelle Thibault (principal investigator), Catherine Laurier, Anne-Marie Tougas (co-applicants). (2018-2022). Problematic eating attitudes and behaviors in children: What psychosocial factors are involved? Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Humaines du Canada (CRSH) Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Humaines du Canada (CRSH) - Programme Développement Savoir.

Isabelle Thibault (principal investigator). (2017-2021). Longitudinal analysis of factors contributing to children's problematic eating attitudes and behaviors using a multi-method approach. Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FQRSC) - Soutien à la recherche pour la relève professorale.

Isabelle Thibault (principal investigator). (2016-2019). Development of baseline values for the Eating Disorder Inventory-3, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment in a general population of children. Fonds de démarrage de la Faculté d'éducation / Fonds Institutionnel de Recherche de l'Université de Sherbrooke.

Publications

Bédard A, Bernard C, Meilleur D, Taddeo D, Pesant C, Di Meglio G, Gingras N, Thibault I, Agostino H, Bélanger R, Nadeau P-O, Frappier J-Y, Stheneur C, Dufresne L, Bégin C. (2024). Recovery trajectories in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 13(3), 778.

Maïano C, Thibault I, Dreiskämper D, Henning L, Tietjens M, Aimé A. (2023). Psychometric Properties of the French and German Versions of the Physical Self-Concept Questionnaire for Elementary School Children – Revised (PSCQ-C-R). Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science. 27(2), 181-194.

Dufresne L, Meilleur D, Gingras N, Di Meglio G, Pesant C, Taddeo D, Nadeau P-O, Bélanger R, Lavoie É, Thibault I, Agostino H, Stheneur C, Frappier J-Y, Bédard A, Bégin C. (2023). Personality heterogeneity in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a factor-mixture analysis. Current Psychology.

Thibault I, *Leduc K, Tougas AM, Pesant C. (2022). "For me, it’s a real pain": A foray into the experience of parents involved in Family-Based Treatment. The Family Journal. 31(1): 140-146.

Thibault I, Pascuzzo K, Pesant C, Bégin C, Bédard A, Di Meglio G, Meilleur D, Taddeo D, Gingras N. (2022). Anorexia nervosa in adolescence: a comprehensive study of multidimensional factors associated with symptom severity one year later. Child Psychiatry & Human Development.

Thibault I, *Leduc K, Tougas AM, Pesant C. (2022). “For me, it’s a real pain”: A foray into the experience of parents involved in Family- Based Treatment. The Family Journal. 31(1): 1-7.

Thibault I, *Leduc K, Tougas A-M, Pesant C. (2022). Parents’ sense of competence regarding the added value of support groups in treating their child’s eating disorder. Thérapie Familiale. 43, 143-159.

Lane J, Therriault D, Lauzier-Jobin F, Paré-Beauchemin R, McSween-Cadieux E, Ziam S, Dagenais C, Gosselin P, Smith J, Houle A-A, Drapeau M, Roy M, Thibault I. (2022). Innovative process to support the sustainability and scale-up of anxiety prevention programs in schools in Quebec, Canada. International Journal of Integrated Care. 22(S3): 156.

Therriault D, Lane J, Houle AA, Dupuis A, Gosselin P, Thibault I, Dionne P, Morin P, Dufour M. (2022). Effects of the HORS-PISTE universal anxiety prevention program measured according to initial levels of student problems. Psychology in the Schools. 1-20.

Lane J, Therriault D, Dupuis A, Gosselin P, Smith J, Ziam S, Roy M, Roberge P, Drapeau M, Morin P, Berrigan F, Thibault I, Dufour M. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety of adolescents in Quebec: A nuanced outlook. Child & Youth Care Forum. 51: 811-833

*Labossière S, Thibault I. (2020). Psychological characteristics associated with disordered eating in university athletes. Translational Sports Medecine. En ligne: 1-6.

Rousseau M, Thibault I, Blier C, Monthuy-Blanc J, Touchette L, T Savard R, Pauzé R. (2020). Intensity of Family Dysfunction Is Associated With Severity of Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa. Journal of Family studies.

*Pelletier-Brochu J, Meilleur D, Di Meglio G, Taddeo D, Lavoie E, Erdstein J, Pauzé R, Pesant C, Thibault I, Frappier J-Y. (2018). Adolescents' perceptions of the quality of interpersonal relationships and eating disorder symptom severity : The mediating role of low self-esteem and negative mood. The Journal of Treatment & Prevention. 26(4): 388-406.

Thibault I, Pauzé R, Bravo G, Lavoie E, Pesant C, Di Meglio G, Frappier J-Y, Meilleur D, Nadeau PO, Stheneur C, Taddeo D. (2017). What Are the Individual, Family, and Social Characteristics Differentiating Prepubertal from Pubertal Anorexia Nervosa? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 62(12): 837-844.

Thibault I, Pauzé R, Lavoie É, Mercier M, Pesant C, Monthuy-Blanc J, Gagnon-Girouard M-P. (2017). Identification of promising practices in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Santé mentale au Québec. 42(1): 379-390.

Thibault I, Pauzé R, Lavoie E, Pesant C, Beauregard C, Caron L, Fortier M, Mercier M. (2016). Case study of a young orthorexic. Revue québécoise de psychologie. 37(1): 27-38.