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Research
Piloting a self-compassion program to promote physical and psychological wellbeing in youth with T1DAmy Keely Liz Asha Finlay-Jones Bebbington Davis Parkinson BPsych(Hons), MPsych(Clinical), MHealthEcon, PhD (Clin Psych) MClinPsych/PhD MBBS FRACP
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Involving young people with lived experience in advancing mental health science: an exploratory qualitative study from Pakistan and IndiaMeaningful involvement of young People with Lived Experience (PWLE) in co-designing youth mental health interventions has been much emphasized globally. However, there is a scarcity of evidence on involving PWLE of mental health problems in designing, implementing and evaluating mental health interventions, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
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Perceptions of two different alcohol use behaviours in pregnancy: an application of the prototype/willingness modelThis study explored whether exposure to either an ‘ambiguous consumption’ prototype (no amount of alcohol specified) or a ‘small consumption’ prototype (‘small’ amount of alcohol specified) had an impact on prototype perceptions of, and willingness to use, small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy.
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Associations between the human immune system and gut microbiome with neurodevelopment in the first 5 years of life: A systematic scoping reviewThe aim of this review was to map the literature assessing associations between maternal or infant immune or gut microbiome biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first 5 years of life. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR compliant review of peer-reviewed, English-language journal articles.
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Time-out for well-being: A mixed methods evaluation of attitudes and likelihood to engage in different types of online emotional well-being programmes in the perinatal periodPositive maternal mental health during the perinatal period contributes to general well-being and positive emotional bonds with the child, encouraging an optimal developmental trajectory. Online interventions to enhance maternal well-being and develop coping skills, such as meditation-based interventions, can be a low-cost way to improve mother and child outcomes.
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Well-being and Distress in University Students with ADHD Traits: the Mediating Roles of Self-Compassion and Emotion Regulation DifficultiesTertiary education is particularly demanding for students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who often struggle with emotion regulation and are at greater risk of internalising disorders compared to their peers. Self-compassion is a skill associated with positive mental health and adaptive emotion regulation that might support students in managing the emotional challenges of studying with ADHD.
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Magic Hats and Teddy Bear picnics: Language and visuospatial lateralisation tasks for childrenThe behavioural outcomes associated with atypical cerebral lateralization during the early stages of cognitive development is an interesting research venture. However, there are few tasks for assessing lateralization in young children. The current study describes the Magic Hat task and the Teddy Bear Picnic task, which were designed to measure the lateralization of language and visuospatial attention, respectively, in children as young as three years old.
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“Stop, pause and take a break”: a mixed methods study of the longer-term outcomes of digital emotional wellbeing training for perinatal womenMaternal psychological distress is related to poorer physical and mental health as well as child developmental problems. Interventions that optimise maternal mental health and wellbeing during the "first 1,000 days" of life should have wide-reaching benefits for the mother and her child.
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Intention to Engage in Alcohol Use during Pregnancy: The Role of Attitudes and PrototypesThere is no known risk-free level of alcohol use in pregnancy. Despite this, many still believe that occasional drinking is safe. To-date, there is limited evidence of the influences on women's decisions about low to moderate alcohol use in pregnancy.
News & Events
Building a secure attachment with your childSecure attachments help children build resilience, self-worth, emotion regulation skills and healthy relationships.
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Charting developmental trajectories from 12 to 36 months and associated early risk and protective factorsTo investigate developmental trajectories in early childhood and predictors of class assignment.
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Paternal Attachment in the First Five Years: the Role of Self-compassion, Negative Emotional Symptoms, Parenting Stress, and Parent Self-efficacyFather-child attachment during the first five years of life plays a vital role in child health and wellbeing but remains an under-researched area. Recently, self-compassion has emerged as a mechanism through which parent–child attachment may be optimized via its capacity to promote parental mental health and wellbeing, yet little is known about self-compassion among fathers specifically.
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Australian Psychologists Experiences with Digital Mental Health: a Qualitative InvestigationDigital mental health is changing the landscape of service delivery by addressing challenges associated with traditional therapy. However, practitioners’ use of these resources remains underexamined.
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Early Irritability as a Transdiagnostic Neurodevelopmental Vulnerability to Later Mental Health ProblemsIrritability is a common trait seen in children. While expressions of irritability are part of normal development, servere irritability is a known indicator of child and adolescent mental health problems.
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Infant and Early Childhood SleepSelf-regulatory difficulties in infants (difficulty soothing and sleeping) tells us that the infant may be at risk of developing a range of physical and mental health difficulties in later life.
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Supporting parents with young children to create healthy screen time behavioursScreen time is an increasing challenge faced by parents across Australia.