Emma Fransson


Emma Fransson is a child psychologist and epidemiologist at Stockholm University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Her expertise is in the health and social implication of shared parenting arrangements on children after their parents are divorced. She has also studied the effects of stress during pregnancy.

Education

Fransson studied psychology at Stockholm University, Sweden, graduating in 2004. In 2012, she obtained her Ph.D. in medical sciences from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Scientific research

Fransson is a co-lead investigator on the Elvis project at the Center for Health Equity Studies, jointly run by Stockholm University and the Karolinska Institute. In this project, children are followed after their parents have divorced or separated, measuring various physical and mental health outcomes, as well as social and behavioral metrics. In her work, Fransson has shown that the well-being of children is higher under shared parenting versus sole custody.

Media attention

Her research on shared parenting has been cited by The Guardian, when she found the same level of psychological complaints in children in shared residency as in those in nuclear families, while children living with one parent had higher levels of psychological complaints. Her research has also been covered by Diritto & Diritti in Italy, ABC Nyheter in Norway, Extra Bladet in Denmark, Wiener Zeitung in Austria, Svenska Dagbladet in Sweden, and Observador in Portugal.