Elucidating the increasing demand for genital cosmetic surgery among girls and women in Australia. This project will identify the psychosocial context of and public communication about the dramatic rise in female genital cosmetic surgery in Australia. Results will contribute to programs for sexuality and body image education, public health campaigns about normal genital diversity, and professional development for doctors and beauty therapists.
An examination of the development, experience and construction of premenstrual symptoms: A comparative study of relationship types and contexts. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). To date, there has been no detailed examination of this debilitation, or the factors associated with it. This research study will do this, helping health-care providers understand the development, experience and construction of PMS in the ....An examination of the development, experience and construction of premenstrual symptoms: A comparative study of relationship types and contexts. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). To date, there has been no detailed examination of this debilitation, or the factors associated with it. This research study will do this, helping health-care providers understand the development, experience and construction of PMS in the context of close family relationships. This will provide a framework for prevention and support programs, thereby reducing PMS, and the physical and psychological distress associated with it. This will lead to improved psychological wellbeing and quality of life for women and their families, a priority area for the ARC. Read moreRead less
Understanding and reducing the impact of sexual objectification. Violence and discrimination are serious problems facing women in Australia. This project examines how sexual objectification contributes to these problems, investigating the process from both the perpetrator's and the victim's perspectives. Using a multi-method approach, the project is expected to show how objectification hampers women in their personal and professional lives. Importantly, the project aims to go beyond identifying ....Understanding and reducing the impact of sexual objectification. Violence and discrimination are serious problems facing women in Australia. This project examines how sexual objectification contributes to these problems, investigating the process from both the perpetrator's and the victim's perspectives. Using a multi-method approach, the project is expected to show how objectification hampers women in their personal and professional lives. Importantly, the project aims to go beyond identifying the harm caused by objectification to start examining ways in which it can be reduced and women can protect themselves from its effects. This is expected to provide insight into a previously unstudied psychological cause of violence and discrimination against women, and map ways of reducing its harm.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101636
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,995.00
Summary
New knowledge on internalised prejudice for same-sex attracted Australians. This project aims to conduct the first nation-wide investigation of internalised sexual prejudice – a key factor driving the health and well-being disparities experienced by same-sex attracted Australians. The project expects to generate new knowledge around the internalisation of past experiences of sexual prejudice. Expected outcomes include advanced measurement techniques of conscious and non-conscious prejudice, sign ....New knowledge on internalised prejudice for same-sex attracted Australians. This project aims to conduct the first nation-wide investigation of internalised sexual prejudice – a key factor driving the health and well-being disparities experienced by same-sex attracted Australians. The project expects to generate new knowledge around the internalisation of past experiences of sexual prejudice. Expected outcomes include advanced measurement techniques of conscious and non-conscious prejudice, significant advances in understandings of the causes and consequences of internalised sexual prejudice, and an enhanced capacity for international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits for same-sex attracted Australians, and for the health, government, and community support sectors working with them.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This resear ....Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This research study will do this, helping health-care providers understand the experience and treatment of PMS in the context of family relationships, thereby reducing PMS, and the physical and psychological distress associated with it. This will lead to improved psychological wellbeing and quality of life for women and their families.Read moreRead less
Understanding reactions to diversity initiatives in organizations: An intergroup perspective. Current policy and legislation promote diversity in organizations,
however employees often react negatively to diversity initiatives
that assist specific groups (e.g., women). Explanations attributing
negativity to individual factors (e.g., self interest) or to broad
organizational culture are limited. Diversity initiatives highlight
differences between the beneficiary and non-beneficiary group(s) ....Understanding reactions to diversity initiatives in organizations: An intergroup perspective. Current policy and legislation promote diversity in organizations,
however employees often react negatively to diversity initiatives
that assist specific groups (e.g., women). Explanations attributing
negativity to individual factors (e.g., self interest) or to broad
organizational culture are limited. Diversity initiatives highlight
differences between the beneficiary and non-beneficiary group(s) and
a comprehensive model should incorporate an intergroup perspective.
It should also recognise the legitimising role of justice-based
concerns. In testing such a model, this project will contribute to
theories of intergroup relations and their interplay with social
policy, and to the development of strategies to manage workplace
diversity.
Read moreRead less
Resilience and coping: Predicting positive well-being following life transitions and major life events among young Australian women. The project addresses a major issue for the well-being of Australians. It examines positive well-being and resilience, which provides an important complement to other work on diagnosed mental illness. Mental health problems are a major problem in Australia, contributing to unemployment, family problems, and risky life choices. By identifying people who maintain goo ....Resilience and coping: Predicting positive well-being following life transitions and major life events among young Australian women. The project addresses a major issue for the well-being of Australians. It examines positive well-being and resilience, which provides an important complement to other work on diagnosed mental illness. Mental health problems are a major problem in Australia, contributing to unemployment, family problems, and risky life choices. By identifying people who maintain good psychological health despite life stress, it can help in prevention and early intervention. It focuses on the important years of early adulthood, when people are dealing with new relationships, employment, and family formation. Its focus on women reflects the fact that women and men experience different life courses, often diverging markedly when the first child arrives.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100584
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,416.00
Summary
Social isolation and loneliness as factors maintaining domestic violence. Isolating victims from support systems is a common tactic of domestic violence, yet we know very little about a key psychological consequence of this: Loneliness. Early research has identified loneliness as a factor in victim-survivor decisions to stay in violent relationships and to return after escape. This project aims to understand loneliness as a feature of domestic violence and its long-term impacts on victim-survivo ....Social isolation and loneliness as factors maintaining domestic violence. Isolating victims from support systems is a common tactic of domestic violence, yet we know very little about a key psychological consequence of this: Loneliness. Early research has identified loneliness as a factor in victim-survivor decisions to stay in violent relationships and to return after escape. This project aims to understand loneliness as a feature of domestic violence and its long-term impacts on victim-survivors using a mixed-methods approach. This will include collection of repeated measures and qualitative data with victim-survivors and service workers. This project will endeavour to provide a comprehensive picture of the impact of loneliness on victims of domestic violence and how we can shape our future service responses.Read moreRead less
Developing a novel method for delivering a behavioral intervention for decreasing morbidity in women with a chronic disease: a randomized controlled trial. Currently there are 209.8 deaths from heart, stroke and vascular diseases per 100 000 of the Australian female population each year, with the rates being considerably high in the elderly female population. Despite the potential benefits of behavioural strategies to prevent morbidity in women with chronic disease, studies to date have not targ ....Developing a novel method for delivering a behavioral intervention for decreasing morbidity in women with a chronic disease: a randomized controlled trial. Currently there are 209.8 deaths from heart, stroke and vascular diseases per 100 000 of the Australian female population each year, with the rates being considerably high in the elderly female population. Despite the potential benefits of behavioural strategies to prevent morbidity in women with chronic disease, studies to date have not targeted women who already have a chronic disease in a clinical setting. This research study will address this, helping postmenopausal women who have chronic disease change negative health behaviours and increase physical activity and self efficacy, improve quality of life and decrease blood pressure, obesity and tobacco use.Read moreRead less
Gendered engagement and participation in sciences and mathematics. This project aims to identify the reasons for the declining numbers of girls (and boys) studying sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects during secondary school. This project will conduct complementary longitudinal studies in Australia, in collaboration with leading international scholars, analysing declining motivations, especially for girls/women, to show how this predicts different STEM career choices ....Gendered engagement and participation in sciences and mathematics. This project aims to identify the reasons for the declining numbers of girls (and boys) studying sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects during secondary school. This project will conduct complementary longitudinal studies in Australia, in collaboration with leading international scholars, analysing declining motivations, especially for girls/women, to show how this predicts different STEM career choices and actual occupational outcomes, to yield theoretical developments and inform policy to improve the participation of girls/women (and boys/men) in these fields. Expected outcomes of this project include the provision of comprehensive evidence-informed recommendations to Federal and State government, industry and education stakeholders, which will enable the coordinated development of intervention programs to address these issues.Read moreRead less