Arbour-Nicitopoulos

Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Professor, Physical Activity & Disability

  • Professor, Physical Activity & Disability
  • Adjunct Scientist, Bloorview Research Institute
55 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2W6

About Kelly

Academic Training

Research Associate, Kinesiology, McMaster University, 2011-12

Postdoctoral Fellow, Kinesiology, University of Toronto, 2008-11, McMaster University, 2010-11

PhD, Kinesiology (Health and Exercise Psychology), McMaster University, 2008

MSc, Kinesiology (Health and Exercise Psychology), McMaster University, 2005

BSc, (Hons) Kinesiology, McMaster University, 2003

Graduate Student Recruitment Status
Accepting PhD and MSc students
Research Interests

Health and exercise psychology

Disability and physical activity

Quantitative research methodology

Knowledge translation

Selected Publications

Millar C, Bihari A, Leo J, Buliung R, Ross T, Shirazipour CH, Latimer-Cheung AE, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP. (2026). Storying the inclusive playground experiences of families of disabled and nondisabled children. Children’s Geographies, 24(1), 81-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2025.2605626

Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP, Bassett-Gunter RL, James ME, Latimer-Cheung AE, Moore SA, Voss C, Best KL, Leo J, Bremer E, Martin Ginis KA. (2025). The National Physical Activity Measurement (NPAM) study for children and youth with disabilities: Movement behaviour guideline adherence and participation across age, gender and disability groups. Disability & Health, 18(4),101842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101842 

 

O’Rourke RH, Knibbe TJ, McPherson A, Faulkner GE, Wright FV, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP. (2025). Developing disability inclusive coaching principles within community recreational sport programming for children. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Plus, 6, 100109.

Dastamooz S, Ho RTH, Wong SHS, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP, Sit CHP. (2024). The association of movement behaviours with salivary cortisol and self-reported mental health issues in adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003628 

Tabaczynski A, Sabiston C, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP, Rhodes RE, Trinh L. (2024). Feasibility and acceptability of a peer training program to deliver a theory-based physical activity behavior change intervention to inactive individuals living with and beyond cancer: A mixed methods study. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2404067 

Lucibello KM, Sabiston CM, Murray RM, Pila E, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP, Gilchrist JD. (2024). Associations among negative weight-related experiences, weight bias internalization, and body-related self-conscious emotions in adolescents: A daily diary study. Journal of Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12425 

Kim J, Ellard C, Tamminen KA, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP. (2024). Special Olympics athletes’ experiences of mental health and help-seeking. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2024.2437185Arbour-Nicitopoulos, K., Bassett-Gunter, R.,  Leo, J., Sharma, R., Olds,T., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Martin Ginis, K. A. (2020). A cross-sectional examination of the 24-hour movement behaviours in Canadian youth with physical and sensory disabilities. Disability and Health Journal

Brown, D. M., Arbour-Nicitopoulos, K. P., Martin Ginis, K. A., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., & Bassett-Gunter, R. L. (2020). Examining the relationship between parent physical activity support behaviour and physical activity among children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 24(7), 1783–1794

Currently Funded Projects
CIHR (Universite Laval) 2023-2026 - Effectiveness of the Wheelchair Skills Training Program for improving wheelchair skills and related rehabilitation outcomes among children and youth.