Improving young people's online safety when talking about suicide. This project aims to improve the safety and quality of online communication about suicide by young people. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young Australians and rates continue to rise. One commonly cited explanation for this is the way in which young people use social media to communicate about suicide. This project will directly address this by testing the impact of a set of evidence-informed guidelines and campaign ....Improving young people's online safety when talking about suicide. This project aims to improve the safety and quality of online communication about suicide by young people. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young Australians and rates continue to rise. One commonly cited explanation for this is the way in which young people use social media to communicate about suicide. This project will directly address this by testing the impact of a set of evidence-informed guidelines and campaign materials that target young people’s capacity to communicate about suicide safely on social media. Expected outcomes of this project include increased online safety for young people. This study also has national and international significance for the social media industry and the safe governance of their platforms. Read moreRead less
Whether social media literacy mitigates effects of social media in adolescents. This project aims to determine protective and risk factors for problems associated with social media use in early adolescents. In particular, it aims to determine the protective role of social media literacy (the skill to analyse, critique and evaluate social media posts). Although most Australian adolescents use social media, frequent social media engagement and photo-based activities can cause body dissatisfaction, ....Whether social media literacy mitigates effects of social media in adolescents. This project aims to determine protective and risk factors for problems associated with social media use in early adolescents. In particular, it aims to determine the protective role of social media literacy (the skill to analyse, critique and evaluate social media posts). Although most Australian adolescents use social media, frequent social media engagement and photo-based activities can cause body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and compromised well-being. Findings supporting a protective role for social media literacy are expected to inform policy to improve adolescent well-being and pave the way for school-based social media literacy interventions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100260
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$457,378.00
Summary
Refugee moral injury: Linking interpersonal trauma and social functioning. This project aims to understand how moral beliefs about past interpersonal traumatic experiences (e.g., torture, rape) are associated with social outcomes considered to be crucial in successful refugee resettlement. This project will investigate the causal impact of these moral beliefs on social adaptation and whether these beliefs are malleable. The project will be a better understanding of how moral beliefs can impact r ....Refugee moral injury: Linking interpersonal trauma and social functioning. This project aims to understand how moral beliefs about past interpersonal traumatic experiences (e.g., torture, rape) are associated with social outcomes considered to be crucial in successful refugee resettlement. This project will investigate the causal impact of these moral beliefs on social adaptation and whether these beliefs are malleable. The project will be a better understanding of how moral beliefs can impact refugees' abilities to navigate and engage with novel social environments. The outcomes of this project will assist service providers and policy makers to understand why some refugees are able to adapt more successfully than others and provide practical tools for improving social outcomes. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100829
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$353,000.00
Summary
The effects of parental education on child health outcomes. This project aims to understand how public education policies can improve health. Common economic analysis of returns to education fails to capture the critical secondary beneficial effects of parental education on future generations’ health. These positive effects are systematically undercounted in the cost-benefit analysis of Australia’s investment in education. This project will use Australian datasets and natural experiments to iden ....The effects of parental education on child health outcomes. This project aims to understand how public education policies can improve health. Common economic analysis of returns to education fails to capture the critical secondary beneficial effects of parental education on future generations’ health. These positive effects are systematically undercounted in the cost-benefit analysis of Australia’s investment in education. This project will use Australian datasets and natural experiments to identify how parental education affects the health outcomes of the second generation. This project expects to provide policy recommendations to maximise health, wellbeing and economic outcomes for Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100043
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,970.00
Summary
Autobiographical memory as a key to successful psychological functioning. This project aims to develop a theoretical framework that will explain how the retrieval of autobiographical memories may be essential for good mental health. Using cutting-edge statistical techniques, an international team of researchers will track young adults over a number of years to explore whether autobiographical memory retrieval underlies development of both adaptive and dysfunctional aspects of psychological funct ....Autobiographical memory as a key to successful psychological functioning. This project aims to develop a theoretical framework that will explain how the retrieval of autobiographical memories may be essential for good mental health. Using cutting-edge statistical techniques, an international team of researchers will track young adults over a number of years to explore whether autobiographical memory retrieval underlies development of both adaptive and dysfunctional aspects of psychological functioning. Expected project outcomes will indicate whether future researchers could enhance autobiographical memory to promote healthy development and potentially prevent mental illness from ever emerging. This will allow future researchers to use cognitive science to benefit the mental health of Australians.Read moreRead less
Digital communication and work stress. This project aims to examine email load and its effects on work pressure, health, sleep and recovery using a national longitudinal design and innovative diary research. The project intends to advance theoretical and practical understanding of the well-being of staff and the impact of technological and competitiveness in the context of Australian universities. Expected outcomes include will address a gap in research by including casual employees, so that the ....Digital communication and work stress. This project aims to examine email load and its effects on work pressure, health, sleep and recovery using a national longitudinal design and innovative diary research. The project intends to advance theoretical and practical understanding of the well-being of staff and the impact of technological and competitiveness in the context of Australian universities. Expected outcomes include will address a gap in research by including casual employees, so that the findings can potentially benefit all occupational groups. In addition to assisting university management to attain healthier work environments, the project may benefit other Australian workers.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240101219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,847.00
Summary
Uncovering epistemic injustice in Australian clinical psychology. This project aims to understand how clinical psychologists privilege Western forms of knowing in ways that have the potential to harm people from refugee and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. This is significant because a lack of understanding of diverse forms of knoweldge can lead to harmful or coercive interventions. The expected outcomes will be new knowledge about exclusionary practices in psychology an ....Uncovering epistemic injustice in Australian clinical psychology. This project aims to understand how clinical psychologists privilege Western forms of knowing in ways that have the potential to harm people from refugee and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. This is significant because a lack of understanding of diverse forms of knoweldge can lead to harmful or coercive interventions. The expected outcomes will be new knowledge about exclusionary practices in psychology and the design of educational tools to build capacity among clinical psychologists to notice and prevent exclusion. This should have significant benefits such as increasing inclusion for CALD people in Australian mental health services and preventing misunderstandings which can lead to coercive interventions. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100386
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,875.00
Summary
Anti-racist neuroethics for epistemic justice in mental health research. Racial/ethnic minorities are underrepresented in brain and mental health (BMH) research, risking inadequate healthcare for the 9.5 million minorities in Australia. With the $73 billion annual cost of BMH disorders to the country, all Australians should equally benefit from BMH research. This project aims to develop recommendations to make BMH research more diverse and inclusive. It will audit representation of minorities in ....Anti-racist neuroethics for epistemic justice in mental health research. Racial/ethnic minorities are underrepresented in brain and mental health (BMH) research, risking inadequate healthcare for the 9.5 million minorities in Australia. With the $73 billion annual cost of BMH disorders to the country, all Australians should equally benefit from BMH research. This project aims to develop recommendations to make BMH research more diverse and inclusive. It will audit representation of minorities in Australian BMH publications and will conduct surveys, interviews, and workshops with scientists to determine institutional barriers to the inclusion of and engagement with minorities in research. This project will draw from concepts of epistemic justice and anti-racism to develop ethical frameworks for BMH racial equity.Read moreRead less
The impact of female sex hormones on neurodevelopment. This project aims to characterise the contribution of sex hormones to the development of emotional brain circuits in female adolescents. Puberty is associated with profound changes in emotional behaviours in females, but we know little about the underlying brain mechanisms. In particular, research has neglected to consider the role of the sex hormones for which changes are a defining feature of female puberty (eg, oestradiol). This work will ....The impact of female sex hormones on neurodevelopment. This project aims to characterise the contribution of sex hormones to the development of emotional brain circuits in female adolescents. Puberty is associated with profound changes in emotional behaviours in females, but we know little about the underlying brain mechanisms. In particular, research has neglected to consider the role of the sex hormones for which changes are a defining feature of female puberty (eg, oestradiol). This work will be the first to comprehensively advance our understanding of the unique role of sex hormones in shaping the adolescent female brain. It will provide critical understanding of how individual differences in hormonal factors increase risk for emotional problems in females, and inform treatment strategies.Read moreRead less
The role of social-emotional learning in attaining literacy and numeracy. This project aims to characterise variability in developmental pathways to literacy and numeracy, and the factors that contribute to this variation, utilising innovative analytical approaches and population data. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the role of school-based social-emotional learning programs in supporting children’s achievement of literacy and numeracy. Expected outcomes of the project ....The role of social-emotional learning in attaining literacy and numeracy. This project aims to characterise variability in developmental pathways to literacy and numeracy, and the factors that contribute to this variation, utilising innovative analytical approaches and population data. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the role of school-based social-emotional learning programs in supporting children’s achievement of literacy and numeracy. Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced collaboration with government to deliver policy-relevant information on the most effective targets and timing for delivering social-emotional programs that maximise academic learning. This should assist policy makers to develop better strategies to support every child’s academic achievement.Read moreRead less