Attachment security and relationship outcomes in adult adoptees: The moderating effects of family experiences and recent relationship events. Personal relationships are vital to well-being and to the structure of society; hence, factors involved in maintaining satisfying relationships are of prime importance. The relationship experiences of adult adoptees deserve particular attention. These individuals have lost the major persons with whom attachments normally form; further, given legislative ....Attachment security and relationship outcomes in adult adoptees: The moderating effects of family experiences and recent relationship events. Personal relationships are vital to well-being and to the structure of society; hence, factors involved in maintaining satisfying relationships are of prime importance. The relationship experiences of adult adoptees deserve particular attention. These individuals have lost the major persons with whom attachments normally form; further, given legislative changes, an increasing number are facing issues related to the search for birth parents. These studies, based on adult attachment theory, represent the first research program to systematically examine the links among adoption, family experiences, attachment security and relationship outcomes. The research has implications for policy and practice regarding adoption and post-adoption counselling.Read moreRead less
Relationship self-regulation as a predictor of marital satisfaction and stability in the early years of marriage. Marital distress and separation are major social problems in Australia. Marital problems are associated with domestic violence, poor health and adjustment of adults and children, and substantial financial costs to individual families and society. The current project tests whether the effort partners expend to sustain the relationship helps maintain relationship satisfaction. If true, ....Relationship self-regulation as a predictor of marital satisfaction and stability in the early years of marriage. Marital distress and separation are major social problems in Australia. Marital problems are associated with domestic violence, poor health and adjustment of adults and children, and substantial financial costs to individual families and society. The current project tests whether the effort partners expend to sustain the relationship helps maintain relationship satisfaction. If true, relationship education programs can be structured to teach people how to enhance their relationships. Effective relationship education could significantly improve the health and quality of life of partners and their children, and reduce national and community costs associated with marital problems. Read moreRead less
Controlled trial of a family intervention for children bullied by peers. Bullying by peers begins as early as pre-school and affects a tenth of Australian children almost every day. This has serious ongoing consequences including increased risk of mental health problems, onset of health problems, development of negative school attitudes and behaviour problems and loss of friendships. This study is a controlled trial of a family program to assist children and parents to reduce the incidence and i ....Controlled trial of a family intervention for children bullied by peers. Bullying by peers begins as early as pre-school and affects a tenth of Australian children almost every day. This has serious ongoing consequences including increased risk of mental health problems, onset of health problems, development of negative school attitudes and behaviour problems and loss of friendships. This study is a controlled trial of a family program to assist children and parents to reduce the incidence and impact of bullying. If successful, such a program could provide relief to many children and families struggling with bullying and save untold millions of dollars lost to future mental health demands.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
Effects on young children's development of multiple and changeable childcare arrangements. Consistency of care is considered important for children's development in the first thee years. The study will investigate a concerning recent trend in childcare in Australian rural/regional and urban areas: the use of multiple and changeable care arrangements (MCC). Information from the study of the effects of MCC on children's development up to school age will inform policy on flexible childcare provisio ....Effects on young children's development of multiple and changeable childcare arrangements. Consistency of care is considered important for children's development in the first thee years. The study will investigate a concerning recent trend in childcare in Australian rural/regional and urban areas: the use of multiple and changeable care arrangements (MCC). Information from the study of the effects of MCC on children's development up to school age will inform policy on flexible childcare provision to assist families, to ensure optimal development in children, and to reduce later educational and social costs.
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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
Linking to learn and learning to link: building integrated school-based support systems for children and families in a disadvantaged community. The project will implement in a disadvantaged community changed institutional practices within primary schools and a partner welfare agency to increase family-school connectedness to improve children's behaviour and school performance. We build on the Pathways Project, which improved these outcomes for vulnerable preschool children, but highlighted the c ....Linking to learn and learning to link: building integrated school-based support systems for children and families in a disadvantaged community. The project will implement in a disadvantaged community changed institutional practices within primary schools and a partner welfare agency to increase family-school connectedness to improve children's behaviour and school performance. We build on the Pathways Project, which improved these outcomes for vulnerable preschool children, but highlighted the critical importance of family involvement with schools to effect enduring change and the difficulties of achieving this within current structures. We address this challenge by nurturing whole-school culture change, providing teacher professional development, and locating family support resources within schools to promote home-school partnerships, family functioning, and child well-being. 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
Social cognitive change in late adulthood. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the ability to perceive and interpret social cues, a critical predictor of social competency and well-being, and identify the most important determinants of any age-related changes. This project predicts that older adults who have the greatest difficulties perceiving and interpreting social cues will also have the poorest social function and well-being, so better understand ....Social cognitive change in late adulthood. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the ability to perceive and interpret social cues, a critical predictor of social competency and well-being, and identify the most important determinants of any age-related changes. This project predicts that older adults who have the greatest difficulties perceiving and interpreting social cues will also have the poorest social function and well-being, so better understanding the mechanistic factors that drive resilience and risk for these difficulties is expected to have direct and important implications for Australia’s growing older adult community.Read moreRead less
A multidimensional model of social cognitive ageing. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the critical ability to perceive, interpret and process social information. By using an innovative approach that integrates laboratory-based assessments with measures of real-life social behaviour, this project expects to generate novel insights into how ageing affects a range of important social cognitive skills, as well as when and why any age-related difficulti ....A multidimensional model of social cognitive ageing. This project aims to develop and test a model of how normal adult ageing affects the critical ability to perceive, interpret and process social information. By using an innovative approach that integrates laboratory-based assessments with measures of real-life social behaviour, this project expects to generate novel insights into how ageing affects a range of important social cognitive skills, as well as when and why any age-related difficulties emerge. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of the factors that drive resilience and risk for social cognitive difficulties in late adulthood, with direct implications for promoting social engagement and preventing social detachment in Australia’s growing older adult community.Read moreRead less