News

To mark the end of the Winter 2026 semester, LÉPSIS gathered for a potluck dinner with an “Under the Sea” theme.

After a busy semester, this dinner was an opportunity to celebrate all we had accomplished together in a friendly and festive atmosphere.

Between the delicious food, the nautical decor, and the wonderful moments shared, we took a moment to recognize the dedication and exceptional work of our students and research assistants.

Thank you to the entire team for this fantastic semester filled with collaboration, perseverance, and successes. Enjoy a well-deserved rest!

On march 25th, several of our members shared findings from the lab!

Léonie Roy presented a scientific poster sharing the results of preliminary analyses on academic success, the use of support services, and the mental health challenges faced by college students. This poster was part of the Retrace project.

Flavie Béland presented a poster on academic motivation and educational success in adulthood, focusing on the role of family support. This poster was part of her specialization thesis.

Méliane Deprez presented a poster exploring the relationship between motivations in program choice and success in CEGEP. Like Léonie’s, her poster was part of the Retrace project.

Thank you to all three of you for your involvement in the lab!

Professor Véronneau also chaired a symposium organized by the PBTSP Chair (Promoting Well-being During School and Post-School Transitions): “An Overview of the Chair’s Work.”

During the symposium, Laetitia Gendron gave a presentation entitled: “Following an Atypical or Prescribed Educational Path: Antecedents and Impacts in Adulthood for Young People from Disadvantaged Backgrounds.”

At the conference on March 12th and 13th, several members of the LÉPSIS brought recognition to the lab!

Laetitia Gendron was awarded the Scientific Citizenship Award! This prize recognizes students who foster a collaborative research environment through their leadership and exceptional peer-support. It particularly values volunteering, strong work ethics, and knowledge-sharing beyond the usual academic requirements.

Flavie Béland presented a scientific poster entitled « Associations Between Self-Reported Stress Mesures and Hair Cortisol Concentrations in the Concordia Longitudinal Research Project Sample ». She received the award for Best Poster!

Congratulations to you both!

The LÉPSIS welcomes the new recruits of winter 2026! Sara Lacoste and Safia Aziez joined the LÉPSIS team as research assistants. They will soon complete a first year out of their bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Welcome to the team ! In order to learn more about Sara, Safia and the other lab members, visit our website, available here: https://lepsis.uqam.ca/en/team/research-assistance/

👩‍💻 On Thursday, January 22, a webinar will highlight the results of research projects carried out as part of the Fonds de recherche du Québec’s “Persévérance et réussite scolaires” (School Perseverance and Success) concerted action program, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education.

Two presentations await you! ⤵️

“Who are they and how can we help them? A portrait of the mental health of vocational training (VT) students and courses of action for their success,” by Marie-Hélène Véronneau, professor in the Department of Psychology at UQAM and holder of the Chair

“Teaching practices in vocational training, in light of experience, in a context of social and academic diversity, as well as heterogeneous environments, organizational modalities, and training methods,” by Chantale Beaucher, professor in the Department of Education at the University of Sherbrooke and director of the Observatoire de la formation professionnelle.

✅ Registration is free but mandatory.

👉 Register now at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h-YPojbbRgyI9XnOsdSjiA#/registration

The Laboratory for Studies on Educational Pathways and Social Influences (LÉPSIS), directed by Professor Marie-Hélène Véronneau, is looking for two first-year undergraduate students who would like to get involved in the laboratory for the duration of their program. This position offers excellent research experience!

See the attached document for more information (only available in French).

Application deadline: January 30, 2026.

Ibtissem wins the Audience Choice Award at the Éclair de Psy competition!

Her comic strip, “Social-emotional skills: The teacher’s superpower!” brilliantly highlights the importance of emotions and well-being in teaching.

New research report!

The research report for the project “Who are they and how can we help them? A portrait of the mental health of vocational training students and courses of action for their success” is now available on the Fonds de recherche du Québec website!

This report provides an overview of the mental health of vocational training students, existing services in vocational training centers, and the links between the use of these services and educational success. It also includes recommendations for the government, school service centers, administrators, and student support staff in vocational training centers.

The report and its summary are available on our website in the “Projects” section.

Interested in learning more about the mental health of vocational training students? Stay tuned!

▸ A knowledge mobilization session summarizing all the results is coming soon.

▸ Other publications related to this project will be released shortly.

Congratulations to Catherine Cimon-Paquet, one of the three winners of the 2024 article competition organized by GRIP!

Her article, written as part of her doctoral studies under the supervision of Professor Marie-Hélène Véronneau, is entitled:

Beyond the Laws: Parental Monitoring, Perceived Acceptability of Underage Drinking and Alcohol Use Among Belgian Youth and was published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Congratulations again to Catherine for this wonderful recognition, which highlights the quality, rigor, and scientific scope of her work!

Her article is available on our website, in the Publications section.

We would like to introduce the LÉPSIS team for the 2025-2026 school year!

With several projects underway and many new recruits, this year promises to be a rewarding one. We would also like to welcome Loïc Bourgault, who is joining LÉPSIS as part of the observation workshop.

We wish everyone a successful semester!

We are very proud to announce that Laetitia Gendron has been awarded a SSHRC scholarship!
This scholarship was granted for her project : Redefining educational success: The antecedents and adult outcomes of diverse educational pathways among youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Congratulations, Laetitia!

What if we rethought academic success?

In both society and academic writing, school success is often measured by the number of years of education completed or the degree obtained.
But does pursuing long studies and landing a prestigious job necessarily lead to fulfillment?

In a recent opinion piece published in Le Devoir, Marie-Hélène Véronneau highlights the importance of adopting a more inclusive view of academic success and recognizing the value of diverse educational paths. She also emphasizes the need to consider how satisfied adults are with their educational journeys and offers a few ideas to help young people broaden their professional horizons.

A link to the article is available in the Press Review section of our French website.

LÉPSIS is proud to welcome its new doctoral students this fall!

• Samuel L. Paradis (Ph.D./Psy.D.) is interested in the socio-emotional factors that shape adolescents’ educational trajectories.
• Ghita Rehimini (Ph.D./Psy.D.) is interested in child development, academic motivation, and educational inequality.

Visit the “Team” section under the “Graduate Students” tab to learn more about their interests and backgrounds!

We wish them a rewarding and harmonious journey.

To start off this new semester on a sweet note, the members of LÉPSIS got together for an ice cream outing!

We wish everyone a great start to the term and lots of success in your research and study projects.

On soccer fields, in music rooms, or on student committees, many young people develop a passion that motivates them and pushes them to excel. However, if we prioritize their extracurricular performance, what happens to their motivation, and more importantly, their well-being?
This is the question Laetitia Gendron explores in her latest popular science article published in Le Devoir newspaper. In it, she explains how positively supporting our young people in their passions can promote harmonious academic progress in the long term.

The link to the article is available in the “For the Community” section of our French website, under the “Press Review” tab.

The Capitaliser project has received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada as part of its Insight program.

Led by Marie-Hélène Véronneau, professor at UQAM and holder of the PBTSP Chair, this project is being carried out in partnership with a team of professors from Concordia University and the University of Quebec in Montreal.

• Lisa A. Serbin, professor in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University
• Dale M. Stack, also a professor in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University
• Arielle Bonneville-Roussy, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Quebec in Montreal

Objectives: The project will aim to identify the various factors that promote the quality of parent-child relationships in order to assess how the quality of the relationship predicts psychosocial adjustment in middle adulthood.

Congratulations to the entire team for this achievement!

We are very proud to announce the new position of full professor in education sciences for Ibtissem Ben Alaya, postdoctoral fellow at LÉPSIS. Ibtissem will be based at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, Lévis campus.

Educational success is essential for smooth integration into the labor market. But how can it be measured?

This is the question that Ibtissem Ben Alaya and Marie-Hélène Véronneau address in their latest information sheet. In it, they present an innovative tool for measuring educational success in vocational training, designed by Florence Tsakpinoglou and Professor Véronneau.

Did you know that the QRÉ-FP is the first assessment tool to measure educational success in vocational training?

The information sheet and assessment tool are available on the “General Public Information” page of our French website!

What better way to celebrate Professor Véronneau’s return to Quebec than with an afternoon of bowling? After a sabbatical year at a university in Oregon, she is back with us in the lab.

It was a fun and friendly afternoon, where we discovered some hidden talents among certain members of LÉPSIS!

LÉPSIS would like to introduce its new members for summer 2025:

• Matthew Fernandez has joined the LÉPSIS team as a research assistant. He is pursuing his master’s degree in psychology at the University of Montreal.

• Méliane Deprez has joined the LÉPSIS team as part of the observation workshop course. She is beginning her third year of a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Montreal.

• Léonie Roy has also joined the LÉPSIS team as a research assistant. She is beginning her second year of a bachelor’s degree in psychology this fall at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

The mental health of students in vocational training and adult general education is central to their success and development. To better support them, LÉPSIS, in partnership with Carrefour FP-FGA’s Accompagnement national, has created a series of three videos.

These videos offer an accessible intervention model designed to meet the needs of as many students as possible. They offer training center staff concrete tools adapted to their reality. Backed by solid scientific data, they also feature inspiring testimonials from people involved in mental health support, to nurture practices in the field.

The videos are available in the For the community -> Video tab : https://lepsis.uqam.ca/pour-la-communaute/videos/

We also invite you to consult our list of references and the catalog of initiatives set up by the Université de Sherbrooke for further resources and useful information, both available on the Video tab of our website!

A look back at the month of June !

Two members of LÉPSIS, headed by Professor Marie-Hélène Véronneau, took part in the 47th annual convention of the Société québécoise pour la recherche en psychologie. At this event, Chair members Flavie Béland and Evelyne Montminy presented the results of studies on the post-school transition of vocational training students.

On Friday May 30, Flavie presented a scientific poster entitled “Égalité des chances lors de la transition en emploi après une formation professionnelle : les études antérieures au DEP font-elles obstacle?”.

On Sunday, June 1, Evelyne presented her poster entitled “La qualité de vie postscolaire chez les élèves de la formation professionnelle: dépend-elle de la réussite scolaire et éducative?”. Congratulations to Evelyne and Flavie, and to all those who contributed to the development of educational psychology research at this unifying event!

Two members of our team proudly represented the laboratory at Acfas 2025!

• Laetitia presented a lightning talk entitled: Identifying atypical educational pathways associated with well-being in young adults from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, as part of the “Well-being and educational success: an ecosystemic perspective” symposium.

• Shanyce gave an oral presentation entitled: Countering gender stereotypes at preschool: Content validation of a pedagogical intervention in development, presented at the “A school for all genders” symposium.
  Congratulations on their commitment and contributions to the field of educational psychology!

Congratulations to two LÉPSIS members, Flavie Béland and Shanyce Alyssa Joseph, on receiving their grants from the Fonds de recherche du Québec!

• Flavie has been awarded a FRQS 1st cycle research initiation scholarship (Health)
• Shanyce received a FRQSC scholarship (Society and Culture)
  

Congratulations to both of you! The whole team wishes you an enriching experience in your research projects.

The Chaire UQAM sur la promotion du bienêtre durant les transitions scolaires et postscolaires team invites you to an online conference organized in collaboration with the Centre d’études sur l’apprentissage et la performance (CEAP UQAM) on May 15!

Titled “Transfer of evidence-based parenting interventions: Le modèle Family Check-Up comme étude de cas”, the conference will be moderated by Anne Marie Mauricio, Associate Research Professor at the University of Oregon.

Date and time: The conference will take place on Zoom on May 15, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/jSzseKgE7c

*The conference will be in English, with simultaneous interpretation in French.

Congratulations to Laurence, a bachelor’s student in psychology, on the presentation of her honours thesis entitled:

“Links between previous educational pathways and the transition to employment of secondary vocational training students”.

Laurence has been an active contributor to the laboratory since her first year of undergraduate studies. This thesis, completed as part of her bachelor’s program, marks a milestone in her academic career.

Congratulations on this achievement!

The ReTraCe Project (Retracing Adaptation Profiles to Better Support Success in the CEGEP-to-University Transition) has received two years of funding from Pôle interordres de Montréal.

Led by Marie-Hélène Véronneau, professor at UQAM and holder of the UQAM Research Chair on Promoting Well-Being During School and Post-School Transitions, this project is carried out in partnership with a cross-institutional team of college and university researchers:

• Erin T. Barker, Professor of Psychology at Concordia University
• Élizabeth Olivier, Professor of Psychopedagogy and Andragogy at the Université de Montréal
• Vasile Ovidiu Lungu, Professor of Psychology at Cégep Marie-Victorin
• Camille Jutras, Professor of Vocational Education and Training at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
• Vincent Corbo, Professor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University

Objectives: ReTraCe aims to better understand the factors that influence student success during the transition from CEGEP to university, in order to provide students with stronger tools and to develop effective actions to support their academic success and persistence.

Congratulations to the entire team for this well-deserved recognition!
Stay tuned for updates on the next steps of this exciting new project.

Our doctoral student in psychology, Laetitia Gendron, and her colleague, Catherine Cimon-Paquet, took part in several interviews in April with Radio-Canada on the theme of passion through an extracurricular activity.

To learn more, we invite you to visit the Press Review section of our website.

We’d like to highlight the remarkable performance of Catherine Plante-Gonthier!
From March 7 to 9, she truly shone at the Provincial Badminton Championships.

Catherine brought home two silver medals:
– Women’s Doubles (with Amelia Truong)
– Mixed Doubles (with Jérémy Pellerin)

Wow! Huge congratulations again, Catherine!

Catherine Cimon-Paquet, who is now pursuing her post-doctorate at Université Laval, was awarded in the Best Student Paper category for the Education section!

The prize, awarded by the Department of Psychology, recognizes excellence in student publications. Catherine received the award for her article Beyond the Laws: Parental Monitoring, Perceived Acceptability of Underage Drinking and Alcohol Use Among Belgian Youth.

Congratulations Catherine!

This past Friday, February 21, Flavie Béland had the chance to present a scientific poster at the annual conference of the Centre de recherche en développement humain (CRDH) in Montreal!

Her presentation focused on predicting psychosocial functioning and resilience throughout adulthood: a prospective multi-sample study using capillary cortisol. This project is part of Concordia University longitudinal project, Non-traditional Pathways to a Successful Life.

Congratulations !!

Congratulations Yangchen! 👏

We are very proud to announce that Yangchen is the recipient of the Antje-Bettin Intercultural Fund Scholarship. ✉️✨

This distinction recognizes her concrete commitment to intercultural rapprochement as well as the excellence of her academic career.

Yangchen has been actively involved in UQAM’s Student Refugee Program for the past year and a half. She currently holds the position of co-vice president and will assume the presidency starting with the Fall 2025 session.

Bravo to Yangchen for this wonderful recognition and her inspiring commitment!

The entire LÉPSIS team would like to highlight an important milestone in Catherine’s career: a successful thesis defense!
She is now a Doctor of Psychology (PhD) – congratulations 🎉🎉🎉.
And that’s not all! Catherine has already started her post-doctorate at Université Laval.
We wish you all the best in this new adventure and thank you for all the wonderful years spent at LÉPSIS ☺️.

Congratulations to Olivier Gaudet on his new article from his doctoral thesis, written in collaboration with Marie-Hélène Véronneau, Johanne Saint-Charles and Cécile Mathys.

The article, published in the Revue de Psychoéducation, looks at unstable self-esteem in early adolescence, and the influence of their role in a clique on this. The study focused on popular and unpopular cliques, in which young people occupy a central or peripheral position.

The results of the study revealed that being a peripheral member of a popular group could be a protective factor for self-esteem.

Conversely, being a peripheral member in an unpopular group would be a risk factor for self-esteem.

LÉPSIS shines again in the newsletter of the Réseau d’information pour la réussite éducative (RIRE)!

This time, it features an article by Shanyce Alyssa Joseph and Marie-Hélène Véronneau: “Student success in vocational training and its links to emotional competence”.

A nice mention of Laetitia Gendron’s article in the Réseau d’information pour la réussite éducative (RIRE) newsletter. 

We are pleased to present the article “Emotional competence and help-seeking intentions as predictors of educational success in vocational training students”, published in the Journal of Adult and Continuing Education #JACE. This article is part of the “Emotional competence in vocational training” project.

Marie-Hélène Véronneau, along with several collaborators from the universities of Rimouski, Concordia and UQÀM, focused on interpersonal emotional competence as a factor contributing to educational success.

What does the study reveal?

• Emotional competence at the beginning of the course is associated with greater educational success, as reported by the student at the end of his or her vocational training studies.
• Emotional competence is also associated with intentions to ask for help, which do not translate into better educational success. The link between emotional competence and educational success remains a rich field for future study!

We are extremely proud to announce the appointment of Catherine Cimon-Paquet to the new Board of Directors of the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), as an independent member. Recognized for her commitment and strong communications skills, Catherine was appointed by the Council of Ministers on July 17. We offer her our warmest congratulations!

On 98.5’s Parlons-Nous, Marie-Hélène Véronneau spoke with Valérie Lebeuf about the importance of the relationship between student and teacher. Following the theme of the episode, “Have you met a teacher who has marked your school career? Indeed, this study suggests that when the relationship between student and teacher is perceived as positive in the school climate, this reduces the risk of the student finding himself in a situation of amotivation. 

*Reminder: amotivation in the school environment refers to the fact that a student doesn’t really see the point of going to school, and feels disengaged from it.

We are delighted to announce the many achievements of LÉPSIS members at the Life History Research Society 2024 conference!

Congratulations to Marie-Hélène Véronneau for her Symposium entitled: “Resilience at the transition to adulthood: The role of personal, interpersonal, and social factors”, as well as to the other participants.

Congratulations to Laetitia Gendron and Shaneha Patel, who presented results from the “Nontraditional Paths” and “Nontrad-Cortisol” projects. Laetitia talked about a new measure developed by the LÉPSIS team, designed to measure satisfaction with the educational pathway among emerging and established adults. She tested the usefulness of this instrument, and the results of the study showed that this measure is complementary to traditional measures of educational attainment in predicting adjustment to adulthood. Shaneha focused on the interaction effects between hair cortisol levels and social withdrawal in childhood, as well as with income in adulthood, to predict distress in adulthood.

Congratulations to Catherine Cimon-Paquet for her presentation on the new school career satisfaction scale (ÉSPS)!

LÉPSIS members had an enriching experience at the SQRP (Quebec Society for Psychological Research) congress!

A huge bravo to Éliane Proulx for her 1st scientific poster at a convention, exploring the themes of friendships and social networks. Congratulations to Yovanna Chacon Valdez for her presentation on the results of her thesis on school pressure and expectations among parents and teenagers. Finally, we’d like to highlight the quality of Shanyce Alyssa Joseph’s study of vocational students’ requests for help.

It is with great pride that we announce Eva Lefebvre as the 2024 recipient of the SQRP (Société Québécoise pour la Recherche en Psychologie) TQMP Award! She won the prize along with Olivier Vivier, PhD student in psychology at UQÀM and Pier-Olivier Caron, Professor at TÉLUQ University. The journal The Quantitative Methods for Psychology, in collaboration with the SQRP, awards this prize to highlight the excellence of research carried out by students in the field of quantitative methods.

In their study, these researchers focused on longitudinal mediation analyses. They point out the risks of statistical bias that can arise if temporality is not properly integrated, and advocate more robust methodologies such as latent growth curves and multilevel models, particularly when data are collected repeatedly over time.

Congratulations again to the three winners!

Another great LÉPSIS appearance at the 91st Acfas congress!

As part of her involvement with the Student intersectoral committee of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Catherine Cimon-Paquet addressed a number of open access issues facing the next generation of scientists. In particular, she discussed the challenges associated with the pressure to publish in prestigious (high-impact factor) journals, and the standards specific to each field of research.

In addition, she presented the results of her third thesis paper, entitled « Understanding the role of parents in academic success from adolescence to adulthood: a developmental cascade », at the « Positive youth development in school settings » symposium.

Middle picture, left to right: Catherine Cimon-Paquet, Virginie Houle, Gabrielle Duguay, David Carpentier

Right right, from left to right: Catherine Cimon-Paquet, Charlotte Longpré

Congratulations to Camille and Shanyce for their presentation on seeking help from parents of vocational training students! They presented at the 91st Acfas congress, as part of the « Learning paths for students in vocational training » symposium, organized by CÉRTA (Center for studies and research on transitions and learning).

We would like to highlight another milestone in the career of Camille Jutras Dupont, who will be continuing her career at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi as a regular professor! We wish her every success in her new role at UQAC.

Here’s a little insight into Camille’s project, which highlights the importance of academic motivation in non-traditional training programs.

Congratulations on this significant contribution to the field of education!

Find out more at
https://www.linkedin.com/…/camille-jutras-dupont…

Catherine Cimon-Paquet was invited to take part in an interview on Radio-Canada’s Place Publique. At the heart of this discussion was a delicate but crucial subject: how to approach alcohol consumption with young people, and more importantly, how to set appropriate limits. The reality is that talking about alcohol consumption with young people can be a complex and sometimes intimidating task for parents. Despite the legal drinking age of 18, over 80% of young people have already experimented with alcohol before the age of 17. What to say and what to do?

A well-deserved end of session for LÉPSIS! After diving into research and hard work, what better way to recharge our batteries than with a little laser tag competition? (and discover unsuspected talent among our members!)

It was the perfect opportunity to celebrate our hard work and strengthen our team bonds. Thank you to all the students and research assistants for your efforts!

Congratulations to Catherine Cimon-Paquet on the publication of her article in The Conversation!

The article highlights an essential approach to reducing alcohol consumption among young people: rather than focusing solely on day-to-day discussions, it’s more effective to rely on clear parental rules. By combining these rules with a democratic parenting style, parents have the opportunity to explain the reasons behind their refusal to let their child drink underage and foster a deep understanding of the issues surrounding alcohol consumption.

To find out more, you can read the full article
on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/consommation-dalcool-a-ladolescence-les-parents-doivent-mettre-des-regles-et-pas-seulement-discuter-224569

Congratulations again on this outstanding achievement!

We’re pleased to present an article on the new digital resource from CCDMD (Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique): the “Adolescence: observer, décrire, interpréter” website. This website brings together several testimonials from teenagers and offers resources for understanding and teaching, focusing on the themes of identity quest, emotional regulation and attachment. These life stories offer a new perspective on theories related to the social-emotional development of adolescents.

🌐link to the article : https://eductive.ca/ressource/adolescence-observer-decrire-interpreter-une-nouvelle-ressource-du-ccdmd/

🌐link to Adolescence: observe, describe, interpret: https://adolescence.ccdmd.qc.ca/