Saara Nolvi
Ph.D (FT), adjunct professor (dos.)
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study saara.nolvi@utu.fi Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku : Med A307/Pub 318 Contact requests by e-mail. |
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. In addition, I work as a senior in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.
My research focuses on early life environmental effects on child self-regulation development and the neural and other biological mechanisms underlying these associations. 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)
- (2026)
- Scandinavian Journal of PsychologyDevelopment and Psychopathology
- Child inhibitory control in toddlerhood: associations with child interaction skills with the mother (2026)
- BMC Psychology
- Does Parental Presence Influence Child Performance on an Emotional Go/No‐Go Task at Age 9.5? Exploring the Role of Puberty and Early Environmental Quality (2026)
- Developmental Science
- Neonatal amygdala and fear processing across early childhood (2026)
- European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Prenatal Parental Psychosocial Determinants of Neonatal Brain Structure: A Latent Variable Approach in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort (2026)
- Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
- The Moderating Role of Child Temperament in the Face of Parental Distress During Covid-19: Associations with Long-Term Social-Emotional Functioning (2026)
- International Journal of Behavioral Development
- Unpredictable maternal signals and developmental profiles of child executive function from infancy to early childhood (2026)
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
- Gestational diabetes mellitus and children's social-emotional development, behavioral problems, and psychological adjustment (2025)
- Pediatric Research
- Infant temperament predicts early communicative skills in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- Journal of Communication Disorders
- Maternal Emotional Availability Supports Child Communicative Development Regardless of Child Temperament: Findings From the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- Infancy
- 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
- Paternal adverse childhood experiences and offspring’s attentional disengagement from faces at 8 months—Results from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2025)
- PLoS ONE
- The Nordic ChiCaP Network: An interdisciplinary approach to childhood cancer predisposition (2025)
- Rare
- Across ages and places : Unpredictability of maternal sensory signals and child internalizing behaviors (2024)
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Antecedents of maternal pregnancy-related anxiety trajectories: The FinnBrain birth cohort study (2024)
- Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Infant gut microbiota and negative and fear reactivity (2024)
- Lower maternal emotional availability is related to increased attention toward fearful faces during infancy (2024)
- Infant Behavior and Development
- 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
- Prepandemic to Early COVID-19 : Changes in Couple Functioning and Links With Harsh Parenting (2024)
- Journal of Family Psychology
- Reciprocal relationships between a child’s engagement with faces and mother–child interaction at 8, 30, and 60 months (2024)
- Developmental Psychology



