Cross-Sectional And Longitudinal Evaluation Of Childhood Anxiety And Depression: Pathways, Risk Factors And Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,055.00
Summary
Anxiety and depression are the most common forms of psychological distress affecting Australian children today. These disorders are seriously disabling and continuous across time. Therefore, it is very important to understand more about the onset and course of these disorders, and about factors which influence these disorders in either a positive or negative manner. There are three major goals for the current project. The first is to further our understanding of the development, maintenance, and ....Anxiety and depression are the most common forms of psychological distress affecting Australian children today. These disorders are seriously disabling and continuous across time. Therefore, it is very important to understand more about the onset and course of these disorders, and about factors which influence these disorders in either a positive or negative manner. There are three major goals for the current project. The first is to further our understanding of the development, maintenance, and amelioration of anxiety and depression in a child and youth population. The second is to understand the relationship between these two disorders in children and youth. The third is to use the acquired information to assist in the identification of optimal ages for preventive interventions, and to aid in the matching of interventions to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children versus adolescents. This project aims to meet these goals through implementation of a controlled prevention trial. The aims fo the research are: 1. To examine the relationship between symptoms of anxiety and depresison in Australian children and youth 2. To gain valuable clinical information regarding the assessment and prevention of these disorders 3. To understand the risk and protective factors associated with these disorders, and the impact of these factors over time 4. To implement and evaluate a school-based prevention program The expected outcomes of the research are: 1. To acquire valuable information related to the onset and course of anxiety and depression in children and youth, and their associated risk and protective factors 2. To further development of more timely and targeted interventions for the prevention of anxiety and depression 4. To enhance the emotional resilience of participating children and prevent the onset of anxiety and depression 5. To promote Australian research by publishing the results of the project within the international research literatureRead moreRead less
Relationship Between Caregiver Time And Mental Health&well-being Of Mothers Caring For Children With Chronic Disability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,127.00
Summary
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has calculated that the dollar value of unpaid caring labour is approximately double the total (monetary) welfare service expenditure in Australia. Furthermore, most authorities predict that the need for informal care will grow as the population ages and as government policies continue to emphasize de-institutionalisation and care in the community. A significant group of these informal caregivers are mothers caring for children with chronic disabili ....The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has calculated that the dollar value of unpaid caring labour is approximately double the total (monetary) welfare service expenditure in Australia. Furthermore, most authorities predict that the need for informal care will grow as the population ages and as government policies continue to emphasize de-institutionalisation and care in the community. A significant group of these informal caregivers are mothers caring for children with chronic disabilities. These mothers have long been known to have higher rates of psychosocial problems than other mothers. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which these problems arise. This is a significant omission, as the potential benefit of home-based care for children with chronic disabilities will only be realised if caregivers remain healthy. It seems unlikely that caregivers will be able to provide effective care for children if their own health has been compromised by the demands of caring for the children's disabilities. The present study will provide new information about the relationship between the caregiving time mothers must spend caring for children with chronic disability, and maternal psychological adjustment and health-related quality of life. A better understanding of the mechanisms which give rise to maternal psychosocial problems in this population is important for two reasons. First, information in this area is an essential prerequisite for the development of effective support to reduce the problems experienced by primary caregivers and ensure they can play an effective ongoing role in the care of children with chronic disability. Second, at a theoretical level there is a great need to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which environmental stressors give rise to mental health problems, particularly depression, in the general population.Read moreRead less
Contextual Influences On Children's And Adolescent's Physical Activity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,950.00
Summary
Physical inactivity has been linked to several chronic health conditions among children and adolescents. However, there has been no research that has examined the long-term physical activity habits of Australian children and how these habits change as children move into adolescence. In addition, there is only limited information regarding the factors that influence children's physical activity. This study aims to examine changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours, such as television v ....Physical inactivity has been linked to several chronic health conditions among children and adolescents. However, there has been no research that has examined the long-term physical activity habits of Australian children and how these habits change as children move into adolescence. In addition, there is only limited information regarding the factors that influence children's physical activity. This study aims to examine changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviours, such as television viewing and computer use, that occur over three years, and also over five years, among children aged 5-6 years and 10-12 years in 2001 (baseline). As such, this study will provide information about children's physical activity habits through primary school and from late primary school to the end of secondary school. The study will also examine the influence of the family and neighbourhood environment on changes that occur in physical activity and sedentary behaviour over that time. This study is significant because it will provide information on the critical transition period between primary and secondary school. The study will identify when changes in these health behaviours occur, the extent of these changes, and the influence of factors in the family environment and the local neighbourhood on changes in these behaviours. Such information is vital to inform the development of strategies to promote and maintain health-enhancing physical activity levels and reduce sedentariness among children.Read moreRead less
Impact Of A Sleep Intervention In Children With ADHD: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$384,230.00
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects up to 7.5% of Australian children. Between 50 and 70% of parents also report sleep problems (eg night waking, insomnia) in their child with ADHD. Such sleep problems are associated with poorer child behaviour, concentration, and school attendance as well as poorer parent mental health and work attendance. This randomised controlled trial will determine whether treating sleep problems in children with ADHD can improve these outcomes.
Predictors And Correlates Of Developmental Language Problems: A Longitudinal Study From Infancy To Pre-school Age
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$537,750.00
Summary
Language impairment is a disabling condition, thought to affect between 7% and 15% of 4 year old children. It has serious and lasting implications for social and emotional development, cognition, behaviour and literacy. A link has been demonstrated between language impairment and later psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Given the potential of enhancing the language development of young children, it is critical that effective prevention and early intervention programs are availab ....Language impairment is a disabling condition, thought to affect between 7% and 15% of 4 year old children. It has serious and lasting implications for social and emotional development, cognition, behaviour and literacy. A link has been demonstrated between language impairment and later psychiatric disorders in adolescence and adulthood. Given the potential of enhancing the language development of young children, it is critical that effective prevention and early intervention programs are available. However, current knowledge is liminted in that there are no entirely satisfactory methods for detecting children who at much younger ages, 8 months, 12 months, 2 years and 3 years, are at risk of later impairment. In this study we aim to: examine the risk factors (many are thought to exist) that contribute to language impairment learn more about the natural history of this disabling disorder in children between 8 months and 4 years of age Ultimately, we aim to identify early signs that might warn health professionals and parents of language impairment so that such problems can be detected much earlier. Early identification will mean that help is available at an earlier age to children who currently go on to have persisting and extremely disabling language impairment.Read moreRead less
The Development, Assessment And Treatment Of Early Indicators Of Psychopathy In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$271,130.00
Summary
2.7 Significance - Lay description Conduct problems and antisocial behaviour cost Australian society millions of dollars every year directly through the mental health and criminal justice systems, indirectly through their association with substance abuse and other mental health problems, and associated disruptions to health, relationships, and personal and occupational functioning. Remediation is not effective once a chronic pattern has been established. Recently, research has shown that early s ....2.7 Significance - Lay description Conduct problems and antisocial behaviour cost Australian society millions of dollars every year directly through the mental health and criminal justice systems, indirectly through their association with substance abuse and other mental health problems, and associated disruptions to health, relationships, and personal and occupational functioning. Remediation is not effective once a chronic pattern has been established. Recently, research has shown that early signs of psychopathy in children predict chronic antisocial behaviour and lack of responsiveness to traditional treatments. The current research uses a combination of experimental, longitudinal, and treatment outcome studies to examine: the effectiveness with which early signs of a callous-unemotional temperamental style, hypothesised to be an early indicator of psychopathy, can be measured in children, causal factors and correlates of callous-unemotional traits, whether such traits pose a risk for chronic antisocial behaviour, the effects of callous-unemotional traits on responsiveness to traditional family-school based treatments, and the effectiveness of an innovative method for treating it in the early years. The project leads directly to a range of clinical assessment and treatment strategies for children at risk for chronic antisocial behaviour. The project has the potential to substantially improve the effectiveness of current treatment approaches to conduct problems in children that focus on family and school management.Read moreRead less
Gudaga Project: Understanding The Health, Development, And Service Use Of Aboriginal Children In An Urban Environment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,424,845.00
Summary
The Gudaga project is a birth cohort of Aboriginal children that will be followed from 18 months to 5 years and describe their health, development and service (health and children's) use. This is the first study of its kind in Eastern Australia. The research team are working closely with stakeholders in Aboriginal health care including the Aboriginal community to implement the research. The research will contribute to services for Aboriginal children in the local and wider community.
The Role Of Learning In The Development, Maintenance, And Treatment Of Paediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,604.00
Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children is a severely debilitating mental health problem affecting between 0.5 and 1% of the population at any point in time. Children with OCD frequently experience high functional impairment as a result of their symptoms, including deteriorating school performance and poor peer relationships. Family life is often disrupted, causing significant distress and hardship to parents and siblings. However, little research attention has been paid to how families ....Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children is a severely debilitating mental health problem affecting between 0.5 and 1% of the population at any point in time. Children with OCD frequently experience high functional impairment as a result of their symptoms, including deteriorating school performance and poor peer relationships. Family life is often disrupted, causing significant distress and hardship to parents and siblings. However, little research attention has been paid to how families affect and are affected by this disabling condition. This research examines the role of learning in the development, maintenance and treatment of OCD. Specifically, the study aims to: 1. explore the way in which children with OCD process threatening information 2. investigate the influence of parents on children's processing of OCD-relevant information 3. develop and implement the world's first randomised control trial of cognitive-behavioural plus parent training (CBT + PT) for childhood OCD 4. evaluate parent-assisted treatment in comparison to a standard cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) and a placebo control 5. examine the long-term maintenance of each type of treatment The outcomes of this project will be: 1. an improved understanding of OCD in children, and their families 2. an increased knowledge of the relationship between parenting processes and OCD symptomatology 3. the development and dissemination of an evidence-based treatment for childhood OCDRead moreRead less