Bridging the gap on locational disadvantage: Impact of community-identified interventions on social capital, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes. Interventions to combat locational disadvantage are vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences for youth and communities. This research will offer important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians and the capacity of schools in locationally disadvantaged ....Bridging the gap on locational disadvantage: Impact of community-identified interventions on social capital, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes. Interventions to combat locational disadvantage are vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences for youth and communities. This research will offer important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians and the capacity of schools in locationally disadvantaged communities. Effective research and community-identified social capital and psychosocial interventions will enhance pro-social behaviours, health, psychosocial adjustment, and school and community engagement. This will build capacity at community, school, and individual levelsand contribute to national socioeconomic wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Young Carers: Investigation of the Psychosocial Impact of Caregiving on Youth Who Have a Parent with an Illness or Disability. This project addresses a growing national public health concern; the welfare of youth affected by parental illness/disability. There is a projected increase in reliance on unpaid care, and young carers are an important but hidden and neglected carer group. Although young carers have recently emerged on the political agenda, the research in this field is at an early descr ....Young Carers: Investigation of the Psychosocial Impact of Caregiving on Youth Who Have a Parent with an Illness or Disability. This project addresses a growing national public health concern; the welfare of youth affected by parental illness/disability. There is a projected increase in reliance on unpaid care, and young carers are an important but hidden and neglected carer group. Although young carers have recently emerged on the political agenda, the research in this field is at an early descriptive stage resulting in a lack of empirical data to inform policy and service development. There is a critical need for data that elucidates young caregiving in Australia. This project will establish new methodologies and frameworks and provide data that will inform policy and services that promote the healthy development of youth affected by parental illness/disability.Read moreRead less
Peer Rejection and the Maladaptive Social Behaviour of Children and Adolescents. Research indicates that peer rejection has serious negative effects on child and adolescent victims. However, little research has addressed the likelihood that peer rejection also has negative consequences for others in the social environment, through its instigation of maladaptive social behaviours such as bullying and ethnic prejudice. Given the incidence of the latter behaviours in primary and secondary schools, ....Peer Rejection and the Maladaptive Social Behaviour of Children and Adolescents. Research indicates that peer rejection has serious negative effects on child and adolescent victims. However, little research has addressed the likelihood that peer rejection also has negative consequences for others in the social environment, through its instigation of maladaptive social behaviours such as bullying and ethnic prejudice. Given the incidence of the latter behaviours in primary and secondary schools, the aim of this project is to conduct a program of research to test an integrative model of the impact of peer rejection on the maladaptive social behaviours of children and adolescents, with a particular focus on ethnic prejudice and bullying.Read moreRead less
The effects of home-based couple relationship education on couple relationships, mental health and work performance. Marital distress and separations cause great suffering and cost the Australian community at least $5 billion annually. This research evaluates an innovative relationship education program that couples can complete at home. The research tests whether the education enhances couples' relationship satisfaction, which couples benefit, how the program achieves its effects, and whether i ....The effects of home-based couple relationship education on couple relationships, mental health and work performance. Marital distress and separations cause great suffering and cost the Australian community at least $5 billion annually. This research evaluates an innovative relationship education program that couples can complete at home. The research tests whether the education enhances couples' relationship satisfaction, which couples benefit, how the program achieves its effects, and whether improved couple relationships enhances partners' mental health and work performance. The program might provide national benefit in reducing the enormous personal and social costs of marital problems, as well as providing a potentially important new product with significant export potential.Read moreRead less
Examining the work-family interface: The impact of a worksite parenting intervention on family and occupational outcomes and objective performance measures. This study will contribute to strengthening the evidence-base for work-family balance policies and practices. There have been few controlled studies examining the effects of workplace interventions targeting working parents. The study will increase our knowledge of the relationship between work-family conflict and occupational functioning. I ....Examining the work-family interface: The impact of a worksite parenting intervention on family and occupational outcomes and objective performance measures. This study will contribute to strengthening the evidence-base for work-family balance policies and practices. There have been few controlled studies examining the effects of workplace interventions targeting working parents. The study will increase our knowledge of the relationship between work-family conflict and occupational functioning. It will enable conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of a specific strategy to enhance working parents ability to manage their respective work and family roles in a cost effective manner. Such evidence will usefully inform both the scientific literature on the effects of work-family balance issues and policy development in the area.Read moreRead less
Designing family-friendly work environments: An evaluation of a worksite parenting intervention for working women with young children. This project will investigate the influence of family factors on organisational well-being, and evaluate the implementation of an intervention which aims to decrease family risk factors and enhance family protective factors, to benefit the work domain. It is expected that family factors will predict work outcomes and that the intervention will significantly impro ....Designing family-friendly work environments: An evaluation of a worksite parenting intervention for working women with young children. This project will investigate the influence of family factors on organisational well-being, and evaluate the implementation of an intervention which aims to decrease family risk factors and enhance family protective factors, to benefit the work domain. It is expected that family factors will predict work outcomes and that the intervention will significantly improve family and work functioning, compared to a control group. Due to the increasing prevalence of working mothers in the workforce, this research will provide important information to organisations for the purpose of policy development in the area of balancing work and family demands.
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Rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents: Antecedents, consequences, and the promotion of rejection resilience. Increasing our understanding of children's rejection sensitivity and its effects, as well as identifying the central processes involved, will contribute to a healthy start, preventative healthcare, and strengthening social and economic fabric. It will allow for a new intervention to build children's competencies, coping and resilience. This will protect from negative intrapers ....Rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents: Antecedents, consequences, and the promotion of rejection resilience. Increasing our understanding of children's rejection sensitivity and its effects, as well as identifying the central processes involved, will contribute to a healthy start, preventative healthcare, and strengthening social and economic fabric. It will allow for a new intervention to build children's competencies, coping and resilience. This will protect from negative intrapersonal (e.g., depression) and interpersonal outcomes (e.g., loneliness, victimisation). It also will improve the social and learning contexts for students, benefit the environment in which teachers work, and strengthen the fabric of families and communities by contributing to the development of harmonious, cooperative environments.Read moreRead less
Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It wi ....Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It will have a substantial national benefit because it will increase our understanding of this insidious social phenomenon and provide a basis for developing an intervention that will minimise a problem that has the potential to devastate community relations.
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The development of the capacity to delay gratification in children with an intellectual disability. Individuals with intellectual disability have difficulty managing their behaviour when they need to wait for a goal, particularly when there are other temptations. This is detrimental to their development, as the capacity to delay gratification has been shown to be important for later developmental outcomes, such as academic achievement, personal relationships and emotional competence. In the fi ....The development of the capacity to delay gratification in children with an intellectual disability. Individuals with intellectual disability have difficulty managing their behaviour when they need to wait for a goal, particularly when there are other temptations. This is detrimental to their development, as the capacity to delay gratification has been shown to be important for later developmental outcomes, such as academic achievement, personal relationships and emotional competence. In the first phase the proposed study will investigate factors thought to contribute to this difficulty, including language ability, use of appropriate strategies and maternal support. The second phase will develop, implement and evaluate a parent training program aimed at increasing children's capacity to delay gratification. Read moreRead less
Attentional mechanisms in the relationship between sleep disruption and academic outcomes in Australian school children. This project will assess the impact of sleep problems on attention and academic performance in primary school children. The project will investigate typically developing children and children with developmental disorders over 18 months. The research will advance knowledge of the interplay between sleep, attention and learning across development.