Email: cmcdonaldharker@mtroyal.ca
Phone: 403-440-8753

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Sociology, University of Alberta (Awarded SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship)
M.A. Sociology, McGill University
B.A.H. Sociology, Queen’s University

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker is a Sociologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She is also the Director of the Centre for Community Disaster Research (CCDR) at Mount Royal University.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker’s areas of expertise and research include: the sociology of disasters; families; parenthood/parenting; children and youth; trauma and resilience; mental health; gender; domestic violence/abuse; and quantitative and qualitative research methods (mixed methods). Over the last several years Dr. McDonald-Harker has conducted several large-scale research studies funded by external research grants totaling over 1.9 million dollars. Dr. McDonald-Harker is regularly interviewed by local, national, and international media including CBC, CTV, Global News, The National, The Globe and Mail, and Huffington Post, among others, to provide her expert opinion on sociological topics in her areas of expertise.

COURSES TAUGHT:

SLGY 1101: Introduction to Sociology
SLGY 2233: Sociology of Gender
SLGY 2271: Sociology of Families
SLGY 3323: Qualitative Research Methods
SLGY 3335: Gender and Work
SLGY 5110: Honours Research I
SLGY 5120: Honours Research II

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Books:

McDonald-Harker, Caroline. 2016. Mothering in Marginalized Contexts: Narratives of Women Who Mother in and Through Domestic Violence. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press, 294 pages.

Book Chapters:

Drolet, Julie, Nasreen Lalani, and Caroline McDonald-Harker. 2022. “Using Creative Art Research Approaches to Assess Arts Based Interventions with Children in Post-Disaster Contexts.” Pp. 117-126 in Social Work Research Using Arts-Based Methods, edited by Ephrat Huss and Eltje Bos. Policy Press.

McDonald-Harker, Caroline. 2019. “Making the Invisible Visible: Abused Women’s Mothering Experiences.” Pp. 255–265 in Routledge Companion to Motherhood, edited by Lynn O’Brien Hallstein, Andrea O’Reilly and Melinda Vandenbeld Giles. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

McDonald-Harker, Caroline. 2015. “Mothering in the Context of Domestic Abuse and Encounters with Child Protection Services: From Victimized to “Criminalized” Mothers.” Pp. 323–354 in Criminalized Mothers: Criminalizing Motherhood edited by Joanne Minaker and Bryan Hogeveen. Toronto, ON: Demeter Press.

Journal Articles:

Bogdan, Eva, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Emilie M. Bassi, and Timothy J. Haney. 2023. “Holding Together After Disaster: The Role of Life Skills in Strengthening Family Cohesion and Resilience.” Family Relations 72(4):2194-2214. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12791

Pazderka, Hannah, Matthew R. G. Brown, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Andrew James Greenshaw, Vincent I. O. Agyapong, Shannon Noble, Monica Mankowski, Bonnie Lee, Joy Omeje, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Deborah Terry Kitching, Leslie A. Hayduk, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Model of Post-Traumatic Growth in Newly Traumatized vs. Retraumatized Adolescents.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 12:682055:1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.682055

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Julie L. Drolet, Anika Sehgal, Matthew R. G. Brown, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Social-Ecological Factors Associated with Higher Levels of Resilience in Children and Youth After Disaster: The Importance of Caregiver and Peer Support.” Frontiers in Public Health 9:682634:1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.682634

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Julie L. Drolet, Anika Sehgal. 2021. “A Strength-Based Approach to Exploring Factors that Contribute to Resilience Among Children and Youth Impacted by Disaster.” The British Journal of Social Work 51(5):1897-1916. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab109

Lalani, Nasreen, Julie L. Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Matthew R. G. Brown, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Vincent I. O. Agyapong, Andrew James Greenshaw, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Nurturing Spiritual Resilience to Promote Post-Disaster Community Recovery: The 2016 Alberta Wildfire in Canada.” Frontiers in Public Health 9:682558:1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.682558

Pazderka, Hannah, Matthew R. G. Brown, Vincent I. O. Agyapong, Andrew James Greenshaw, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Shannon Noble, Monica Mankowski, Bonnie Lee, Julie L. Drolet, Joy Omeje, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Deborah Terry Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Collective Trauma and Mental Health in Adolescents: A Retrospective Cohort Study of the Effects of Retraumatization.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 12:682041:1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.682041

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, Sarah McGreer, Matthew R. G. Brown, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Early Childhood Development in the Aftermath of the 2016 Wildfire in Alberta, Canada.” Journal on Education in Emergencies 7(1):53-79. https://doi.org/10.33682/u3ar-wwzm

Brown, Matthew R. G., Hannah Pazderka, Vincent I. O. Agyapong, Andrew J.Greenshaw, Ivor Cribben, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Julie L. Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Joy Omeje, Bonnie Lee, Monica Mankowski, Shannon Noble, Deborah T. Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2021. “Mental Health Symptoms Unexpectedly Increased in Students Aged 11–19 years During the 3.5 Years After the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire: Findings from 9,376 Survey Responses.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 12:676256:1-17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.676256

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Julie L. Drolet, and Sean Colvin. 2021. “The Role of Sport in Building Resilience Among Children and Youth Impacted by Disaster.” The International Journal of Sport and Society 12(1):33-51. https://doi.org/10.18848/2152-7857/CGP/v12i01/33-51

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, Meagan McNichol, Matthew R. G. Brown, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2020. “Social, Economic, and Health Effects of the 2016 Alberta Wildfires: Pediatric Resilience.” Journal of Disaster Research 15(7):833-844. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2020.p0833

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Emilie M. Bassi, and Timothy J. Haney. 2020. “‘We Need to Do Something About This’: Children and Youth’s Post-Disaster Views on Climate Change and Environmental Crisis.” Sociological Inquiry 92(1):5-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12381

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, and Julia Tran. 2020. “Impacts of the 2013 Flood on Immigrant Children, Youth, and Families in Alberta, Canada.” International Journal of Social Work 7(1):57-74. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijsw.v7i1.16872

Brown, Matthew R. G., Vincent Agyapong, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Ivor Cribben, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Julie Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Joy Omeje, Monica Mankowsi, Shannon Noble, Deborah T. Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2019. “Significant PTSD and Other Mental Health Effects Present 18 Months After the Fort McMurray Wildfire: Findings from 3,070 Grades 7-12 Students.” Frontiers Psychiatry 10(623):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00623

Brown, Matthew R. G., Vincent Agyapong, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Ivor Cribben, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Julie Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Joy Omeje, Monica Mankowsi, Shannon Noble, Deborah T. Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone. 2019. “After the Fort McMurray Wildfire There Are Significant Increases in Mental Health Symptoms in Grade 7-12 Students Compared to Controls.” BMC Psychiatry 19(18):1- 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-2007-1

Drolet, Julie, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Amy Fulton, and Anna Iliscupidez. 2018. “Art-Informed Research with Children and Youth in a Post-flood Community.” The International Journal of Social, Political and Community Agendas in the Arts 13(1):39-50. https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v13i03/39-50

Haney, Timothy J. and Caroline McDonald-Harker. 2017. “‘The River Is Not the Same Anymore’: Environmental Risk and Uncertainty in the Aftermath of the High River, Alberta Flood.” Social Currents 4(6):594-612. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496516669351


SELECTED RESEARCH GRANT FUNDING:

2024–2025, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Connection Grant. “Social Work Knowledge Mobilization to Support Vulnerable and Marginalized Nova Scotians in Disaster Settings.” Role: Co-Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Judy E. MacDonald, Dalhousie University (Principal Investigator) and other Co-Investigators. $25,000.

2016–2020, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant: Health Effects of the Alberta Wildfires – Pediatric Resiliency. “The Health Effects of the Alberta Wildfire and Evacuation: Pediatric Resiliency.” Role: Principal Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Peter Silverstone, University of Alberta (Nominated Principal Investigator); Dr. Vincent Agyapong, University of Alberta (Principal Investigator); and Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Principal Investigator). $500,000.

2016–2017, Centre for Community Disaster Research (CCDR), Mount Royal University, Quick Response Grant. “A Peer Support and Mentoring Pilot Project for Community Service Providers and Children/Youth in Fort McMurray, Alberta: Developing Collaborative Support for Community Resilience and Disaster Recovery.” Role: Principal Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Co-Researcher); and Dr. Robin Cox, Royal Roads University (Co-Researcher). $15,000.

2015–2019, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS), Collaborative Research and Innovation Opportunities (CRIO). “Alberta Resilient Communities Research Project: Engaging Children and Youth in Community Resilience Post-flood in Southern Alberta.” Role: Collaborative Co-Lead. In collaboration with Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Collaborative Lead); and Dr. Robin Cox, Royal Roads University. $1,059,716.

2015–2019, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Partnership Development Grant - Community and College Social Innovation Fund. “Social Innovation on the Ground: Accessible and Evidence-Based Tools for Social Innovators.” Role: Collaborator. In collaboration with Russ Wilde, Bow Valley College (Principal Investigator); Augusto V.C. Legaspi, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Scott H. Henwood, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Timothy J. Loblaw, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Corinne Finnie, Bow Valley College (Collaborator); Lisa Reinders, Town of High River (Collaborator); Tricia Donovan, eCampus Alberta (Collaborator). $198,245.

2014–2018, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Partnership Development Grant. “The Effects of Environmental Disasters on the Family: Communicating, Coping, and Caring Among Families Impacted by the 2013 High River Alberta Floods.” Role: Principal Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Timothy Haney, Mount Royal University (Co-Researcher). $165,336.

2014–2015, Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES), Mount Royal University, Environmental Sustainability Research Grant. “The Effects and Implications of Environmental Disasters on the Family and Communities, and Ensuring Environmental and Social Sustainability: Communicating, Coping, and Caring Among Families Impacted by the 2013 High River Alberta Floods.” Role: Principal Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Timothy Haney, Mount Royal University (Co-Researcher). $19,800.