Danielle S. Molnar
Assistant Professor
Department of Child and Youth Studies
Brock University
Canada
Biography
Dr. Molnar is a social/personality psychologist. At the broadest level, her research is focused on understanding the biological, psychological, social, and developmental factors that contribute to health and well-being across the lifespan, with a particular focus on early and middle childhood. Dr. Molnar’s specific interests include understanding the role of social-personality vulnerability factors, especially perfectionism, in the etiology, promotion, and maintenance of physical health and well-being. Dr. Molnar is also interested in examining potential etiological processes in the development of risk and resilience among children in high-risk samples, with a specific emphasis on the role of the prenatal environment. Outcomes of interest include the salient developmental outcomes at each age, ranging from the quality of parent-child relationships, security of attachment, and physiological and behavioural regulation in infancy, the development of self-regulation in the toddler/ preschool period, and social competence and peer relationships upon entry into the school setting.
Research Interest
Understanding the role of perfectionism in health and well-being; The development of perfectionism; The impact of parental prenatal and postnatal substance abuse on developmental trajectories of risk and resilience from infancy to adolescence; Positive psychological factors that promote health and well-being (e.g., secure attachment, self-compassion, gratitude).
Publications
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Shisler, S., Homish, G., Molnar, D. S., Schuetze, P., Colder, C. R., & Eiden, R. D. (2016). Predictors of changes in smoking from 3rd trimester to 9 months postpartum. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 18, 84-87.
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Hosker-Field, A., Molnar, D. S., & Book, A. S. (2016). Psychopathy and risk-taking: Examining the role of risk perception. Personality and Individual Differences, 91, 123-132.
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Flett, G. L., Molnar, D. S., & Hewitt, P. L. (2016). The traumatized perfectionist: Understanding the role of perfectionism in post-traumatic reactions to stress. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, 18, 764-765.
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Flett, G. L., Nepon, T., Hewitt, P. L., Molnar, D. S., & Zhao, W. (2016). Projecting perfection by hiding effort: Supplementing the perfectionistic self-presentation scale with a brief selfpresentation measure. Self & Identity, 15, 245-261.
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"Flett, G. L., Mara, C. A. M., Hewitt, P. L., Sirois, F., Molnar, D. S. (2016). How should discrepancy be assessed in perfectionism research? A psychometric analysis and proposed refinement of the Almost-Perfect Scale-Revised. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment."
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Shisler, S., Eiden, R., Molnar, D.S., Schuetze, P., Coles, C., Huestis, M., Colder, C. (2016). Effects of fetal tobacco exposure on focused attention in infancy. Infant Behavior and Development, 46, 1-10.
