Born Justine Saade in Jounieh, Lebanon-the fifth of seven children in an highly traditional, devoutly religious family-Justine attended Maronite Catholic primary and secondary schools in Jounieh. After high school, she taught elementary school. Justine met Yves Sergent-a recently graduated, educational psychologist stationed in Lebanon with the Cooperation Militaire Franqaise-when she disputed his evaluation of one of her pupils. A few months later, while Yves' parents were visiting Lebanon, the couple announced their engagement. When Yves' tour of duty in Lebanon ended, Justine set aside her traditional upbringing and started a new life with Yves in France. They married in Yves' boyhood home, Enghien-les-Bains, in October, 1973. The closest of friends throughout their 20 years of marriage, their ashes now share a single urn in the Sergent family crypt in Enghien-les-Bains.
In the fall of 1974, Justine entered McGill University and successively was awarded Undergraduate, Master's and Doctoral degrees in Psychology. At McGill University, as elsewhere, only truly outstanding students are offered academic posts; Justine was such a student. Appointed to the faculty, Justine advanced rapidly through the academic ranks. To further her research, she visited often with outstanding scientists in other countries, establishing long-standing, highly productive collaborations. In the past decade, she published extensively, always in well-respected, international journals.