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Senior Research Fellow
NHMRC Early Career Fellow
Honorary Emeritus Research Fellow
As Neurodiversity Celebration Week draws to a close, we are shining a light on an important study underway at The Kids Research Institute Australia, led by Dr Thom Nevill, a Research Officer within our Human Development and Community Wellbeing and Child Disability teams.
In this paper, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the multidimensional nature of school readiness. In a sample of over 4,000 Australian children in their first year of school, we used latent class analysis to examine patterns of school readiness based on child, family, school and community characteristics, and examine the relationship between these patterns of school readiness and subsequent outcomes (reading comprehension, school absence and emotional and behavioural difficulties).
Despite education about the risks of excessive sun exposure, teenagers in Australia are sun-seeking, with sunburn common in summer. Conversely, some regular (time-limited) exposure to sunlight (that avoids sunburn) is necessary for vitamin D and healthy bones and other molecules important for immune and metabolic health. New interventions are thus required to better support teenagers to make healthy and balanced decisions about their sun behaviors.
The study aimed to investigate the association between interpregnancy interval (IPI) and parent-reported oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in offspring at 7 and 10 years of age. We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), an ongoing population-based longitudinal study based in Bristol, United Kingdom (UK).
Traditional conceptualizations of aggression distinguish between reactive (e.g., rage) and proactive (e.g., reward) functions of aggression. However, critiques of this dichotomy have pointed out these models conflate motivational valence and self-control.
A commonly suggested strategy for addressing bullying is for victims to seek help from a trusted person. Despite this recommendation, there are a group of adolescent victims who choose not to seek help. This study aimed to identify factors associated with not seeking help among adolescents who experienced bullying victimisation.
Early childhood investment decisions represent critical policy frameworks that ideally reflect a strong evidence base. This review seeks to assess early childhood intervention priorities based on return on investment without limitation by health, education or social science sector.