Saara Nolvi
Ph.D (FT), adjunct professor (dos.)
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study saara.nolvi@utu.fi Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku Office: Med A307/Pub 318 Contact requests by e-mail. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-1473 |
prenatal stress; early life stress; postnatal stress; anxiety; temperament; fear reactivity; executive functioning; socioemotional development; cognitive development; structural equation modelling; milk cortisol; brain structure; amygdala; MRI; fMRI, DTI
Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn); Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology; the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.
Pronouns: she/hers
I am adjunct professor (developmental psychology) and psychologist by background. I currently work as senior researcher in the Academy-funded Centrel of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn) in the Department of Psychology and Speech-Languge Pathology. I am the principal investigator in the Academy-funded PROSODE project where we explore parental social protective experiences and how they are linked to child self-regulation and brain development. Additionally, I am senior researcher in the PeCCaPS study, where the focus is in family functioning after the child has received diagnosis for pediatric cancer, and family members are being tested for their genetic predispositions for cancer.
My research focuses on early life environmental effects on child self-regulation development and the neural and other biological mechanisms underlying these associations. Particularly, I am interested in the buffering or promotive environmental factors, such as caregiving, parental presence, positive life events, or social support expriences. I am also interested in the inter-individual differences in sensitivity to stress and environment, and how these differences in plasticity are shaped by the environment across development. In
the InterLearn study, we are specifically interested in the longitudinal development of self-regulation and its relation to child mental health and academic functioning. We also aim to identify environmental factors that may buffer from or exacerbate the risk for academic and emotional difficulties.
Teacher education (60 ects); experience from teaching and lecturing from all age groups and educational levels
Taught courses currently:
PSYK3933 Developmental psychology I
PSYK4323 Master's thesis (Psychology)
- Maternal Emotional Availability Supports Child Communicative Development Regardless of Child Temperament: Findings From the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- Infancy
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Participation in early childhood education and care in Finland mitigates the associations between maternal psychological distress and child social and emotional problems at age two (2025)
- European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Paternal adverse childhood experiences and offspring’s attentional disengagement from faces at 8 months—Results from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- PLoS ONE
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The Nordic ChiCaP Network: An interdisciplinary approach to childhood cancer predisposition (2025)
- Rare
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Across ages and places : Unpredictability of maternal sensory signals and child internalizing behaviors (2024)
- Journal of Affective Disorders
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Antecedents of maternal pregnancy-related anxiety trajectories: The FinnBrain birth cohort study (2024)
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Infant gut microbiota and negative and fear reactivity (2024)
- Development and Psychopathology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Lower maternal emotional availability is related to increased attention toward fearful faces during infancy (2024)
- Infant Behavior and Development
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Mother-Infant Interaction and Maternal Postnatal Psychological Distress Associate with Child's Social-Emotional Development During Early Childhood : A FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2024)
- Child Psychiatry and Human Development
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Prepandemic to Early COVID-19 : Changes in Couple Functioning and Links With Harsh Parenting (2024)
- Journal of Family Psychology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



