http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/ The University of Queensland en Fez http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:205308 This dissertation is the outcome of a qualitative research project which critically analysed the suite of professional development programs provided by Education Queensland (responsible for the state government school system in Queensland) for Principals. The project focussed specifically on secondary school Principals. Five Education Queensland programs were included in the scope of this study: • Strategic Leaders Program • Leadership Toolkit • Enhancing Leadership for the Future (ELF) • Mentors for First Time Principals • Supportive School Leadership Program The overall focus of this research was the examination of these professional development programs for Principals by addressing the following four research questions: 1. What is the level of uptake and awareness of professional development programs among a group of Principals and Executive Directors (Schools) (supervisors of Principals) across the 2002-2006 period? 2. How well do these professional development programs meet their intended outcomes in practice in terms of an alignment between intended and actual outcomes? 3. Do participants in these professional development programs, or supervisors of participants, believe the programs contribute to improved leadership in so far as school performance and/or student learning is improved? 4. What suggestions can the Principals and other senior officers make in regard to current professional development programs and other potential learning opportunities for Principals? A review of literature examined the forces of change that have contributed to the complexity of the Principal’s role in recent decades and the work that has occurred in many contexts in order to professionally develop Principals in this new era of complexity. The literature review revealed that the role of the Principal has changed significantly in recent decades and that Principals are now doing work that is different from that done by Principals decades ago. Professional development for Principals has evolved in an attempt to align with this changing role. A body of professional development for Principals is occurring internationally, in Australia and in Queensland. However, research indicates that this new wave of professional development for Principals has not had a high level of success in achieving the intended outcomes. The findings of this research project would suggest that Education Queensland secondary Principals are accessing a limited amount of professional development offered by their own system. This may be partially because of an evident lack of awareness of what professional development programs are actually offered by Education Queensland. Both these findings may be linked to a miscommunication of corporate expectations between Education Queensland’s Central Office and Regional and District Offices and schools. When these programs are completed by Principals, the findings of the research suggest that based on the perspectives of the participants, only the Strategic Leaders program, Enhancing Leadership for the Future (ELF) and the Mentors for First Time Principals program were effective and had strong alignment between intended outcomes and the perceived outcomes of the participants. None of the programs are effecting a direct improvement in school or student learning outcomes. Recommendations for improving professional development programs for Principals to emerge from the research include developing individualised professional development based on the context of the Principal, increasing opportunities for Principals to develop collegial and professional relationships with other Principals, utilising programs and expertise offered by universities, increasing the scope and depth of mentoring and coaching programs and creating professional development opportunities which scaffold the learning experiences against real-life work tasks completed by the Principals in their schools. 2010-05-17T00:00:00Z Mr Dean Russell http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:206138 Research evidence suggests that post-graduate clinical psychology students are particularly vulnerable to experiencing excessive stress, which can negatively impact their personal and professional functioning and, in turn, result in less than optimal standards of care for clients. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of empirical studies on stress in this population, and there is no published intervention research on stress in Australian post-graduate clinical psychology students. The purpose of the present study was to develop a group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) stress management intervention for post-graduate clinical psychology interns (students currently treating clients in the university psychology clinic), and evaluate the efficacy of the program in reducing stress and psychological distress, increasing life satisfaction, fostering therapist characteristics associated with better therapy outcomes, and improving the therapeutic alliance. The study also examined the mediating role of ACT processes. Five hypotheses were tested: (1) that ACT intervention participants would report greater reductions in stress and psychological distress, and greater improvements in life satisfaction than a control group, (2) that ACT intervention participants would report greater improvements in self-compassion and self-efficacy than a control group, (3) that ACT intervention participants (and their clients) would report a stronger therapeutic alliance than a control group (and their clients), (4) that ACT intervention participants would show greater improvements in the ACT process variables (acceptance and action, mindfulness, defusion, and valued living) than a control group, and (5) that changes in stress, psychological distress, life satisfaction, self-compassion, self-efficacy, and the therapeutic alliance would be mediated by changes in some or all of the ACT processes. A cohort-controlled design, where an experimental group (n = 28) was contrasted to a wait-list control group (n= 28) was utilised, with a 10 week follow-up for the treatment group. The stress management intervention was comprised of an integrated sequence of standard ACT concepts, exercises and strategies, and was delivered via one three-hour group session per week, for four consecutive weeks (12 hours in total). Data were collected via questionnaires pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at a 10 week follow-up. Pre-treatment, 73% of the total sample met criteria for caseness on the General Health Questionnaire-28. By post-treatment, caseness in the intervention group had reduced from 64% to 37%, whereas 79% of students in the control group continued to meet caseness criteria. Multivariate analyses showed that from pre- to post-treatment, ACT intervention participants demonstrated greater reductions in stress and psychological distress, and greater improvements in self-efficacy, self-compassion (Overidentification subscale), acceptance and action, mindfulness, defusion, and valued living, and a stronger therapeutic alliance (Bond subscale), than the control group. Social validation data were consistent with these findings, and all treatment gains were maintained at the 10 week follow-up. A series of bootstrapped nonparametric multiple mediator tests showed that ACT processes mediated the changes in psychological distress, self-compassion (Overidentification subscale), self-efficacy, and the therapeutic alliance (Bond subscale). There were no differences between the groups in satisfaction with their clinical training. Most reported that they would like more preparation before seeing clients for the first time, and a smaller workload. Findings provide preliminary support for the efficacy of a group ACT program for post-graduate clinical psychology interns, in terms of stress reduction, and improving qualities that have been linked to better client outcomes. The findings also contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms by which ACT brings about change. 2010-06-13T00:00:00Z Mrs Johanna (Jeanie) Stafford-Brown http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159129 2008-11-08T00:00:00Z Ms Judith Sheridan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:261987 The dominant culture in Australia places particular significance on nuclear family, home, privacy, individual space and ownership of assets. In contrast Aboriginal cultural values emphasize the importance of country and place, extended kinship and family obligations, community assets held in trust for future generations. The research aims to explore and document the housing histories and housing preferences of Aboriginal individuals living in a major urban centre in Queensland (Brisbane), and their perspectives on housing market features such as policies, services and assistance programs that have supported or contested these preferences. Designed as an exploratory study based in a qualitative paradigm, the research study uses an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to arrive at heuristic interpretations of in-depth interviews with a small number of Aboriginal people living in Brisbane. It seeks to understand how urban Aboriginals sustain their cultural life ways within urban dwelling spaces that are principally designed in accordance with the cultural priorities of the dominant culture. It presents the emergent and major themes identified through these engagements, and suggests ways for insuring that housing provision supports, rather than contests, the expressed housing preferences of Aboriginal people living in urban areas. 2011-11-22T00:00:00Z Padmini Saxena http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:164668 There are a range of distal (i.e., pre-trauma) and proximal (i.e., peri- and post-trauma) predictors of posttraumatic mental health. Among these is cognitive ability level, which has generally been reported to share a dose-response relationship with risk for chronic PTSD diagnosis. However, the risk or protection conferred by cognitive ability for mental health symptoms close to the time of exposure to traumatic and non-traumatic stress has to date not been explored. Additionally, the possibility that it serves as a moderator of the effects of other pre-, peri- and post-trauma factors has not been examined. Whether there is variability in the predictors of commonly comorbid mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general psychological distress (GPD) including depression and anxiety symptoms, has received little research attention. Moreover, the issue of whether the risk and protective factors of such commonly comorbid mental health problems vary across time has received little research scrutiny. The current study addresses these noted gaps in the extant literature in a longitudinal within-subjects design. Participants were 664 individual members of the Australian Defence Force who had recently completed an overseas operational deployment. Participants were assessed at the end of deployment and then again approximately five months later. Data was analysed via hierarchical multiple regression to allow for the examination of main effects and moderation. Partial support for the hypotheses posed was provided by the current findings. The effects regarding cognitive ability were inconsistent but did demonstrate evidence of being a main effect predictor and moderator of mental health outcome. In addition to the inconsistent effects of cognitive ability, other predictors of mental health post-deployment included non-traumatic stress exposure, peri-traumatic and enduring emotionality, overall personal deployment experience, team morale, the anticipation of difficulty on return home, the amount of time away from home in the past year, marital status, gender and age. As expected, there were some similarities and differences in the predictors of PTSD and GPD symptomatology, possibly due to the apparent underlying processes and similarity and uniqueness of certain symptoms of PTSD and GPD. At the acute phase post-deployment, while proximal predictors accounted for more variance than distal predictors, there were fewer significant predictors of change in longitudinal mental health than there were for acute mental health. While the vast majority of returning ADF veterans reported minimal mental health problems, a delayed onset of elevated PTSD symptomatology and a chronic course of PTSD symptomatology were demonstrated by 7% and 3% of participants respectively. The findings are discussed in terms of future research directions and important clinical and organisational implications. 2009-02-17T00:00:00Z Ms Rosemary Patton http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:283212 Parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have higher levels of psychological distress, including general and parenting stress, than other parent groups (Baker-Ericzen, Brookman-Frazee, & Stahmer, 2005; Blacher & McIntyre, 2006; Eisenhower, Baker, & Blacher, 2005). Despite this consistent finding, stress management programs designed specifically for this population are few. Preliminary findings have supported Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an effective intervention for parents of children with ASD (Blackledge & Hayes, 2006; Hocking, 2010). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an ACT workshop in reducing stress and negative affect levels in parents of children with ASD. This study was a randomised controlled trial with 68 parents randomly assigned to two conditions: intervention (n = 35) or wait-list control (n = 33). It was hypothesised that the intervention group would have fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress and higher levels of acceptance and mindfulness at posttreatment than the wait-list control group. The intervention group received a 4-hour ACT workshop over 2 weeks. Participants in both groups were assessed at pretreatment and posttreatment on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21, Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, Acceptance and Action Autism Questionnaire and the Mindful Awareness Attention Scale. The intervention group was also assessed at a 3-month follow-up. To compare the differences between the groups on outcome measures, mixed between-within subjects multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were used. The follow-up data was analysed with repeated measures MANOVAs. Overall, the results of the randomised controlled trial did not support the predicted group differences on outcomes. There were no significant differences between the groups and over time on the parent outcome measures. Possible explanations for the null findings, the study limitations and implications for future research are discussed. 2012-10-13T12:09:00Z Bird, Celia http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:227905 Background: Stepping Stones Triple P (SSTP) is a new parenting intervention designed specifically for parents of children with disabilities to help them develop effective management strategies for dealing with childhood behaviour problems and developmental issues. It has recently been trialled specifically with parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from an Australian population and has been found to have positive effects for parent and child. Present study: is a two-part study: Study I included 13 families of children with ASD between the ages of 2-8 years old from Toronto, Canada. This study was run as a series of focus groups aimed to investigate parental perceptions and experiences of having a child diagnosed with ASD, the diagnostic process within the Canadian health system, as well as, parental adjustment to having a child diagnosed with ASD. Study II was conducted after the focus groups and included 20 families of children with ASD in the same age range. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of SSTP parenting program with parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a Canadian population. This was a pilot study as SSTP had yet to be evaluated with the Canadian, ASD population. Assessment included parents’ completing questionnaires at pre-intervention, post-intervention and again at 3 months follow-up regarding child behaviour, parenting confidence and competence, and parenting stress and adjustment caring for their child with ASD. Results: Specific to study I, it was found a majority of parents’ reported negative perceptions and experiences with the diagnostic process in the Canadian health system. In both Study I and II, prior to delivery of SSTP, parents’ reported elevated levels of behavioural, social and/or communication difficulties with their child, moderate levels of distress, self confidence and competence in their parenting role, and mixed positive and negative perceptions of the impact their child had on the family. In Study II post-intervention, a significant decrease in child behaviour problems, parenting stress and dysfunctional parenting styles were reported, along with an increase in parental self-confidence and competence, and perceived positive impact of their child on the family. These results were maintained at 3 months follow-up. Overall, parents’ response to the SSTP program was positive in terms of acceptability, usability, and behavioural intention. 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z Mr Jamal Lake http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:206566 Abstract A person’s conception of their own ageing has been shown in previous research to have important psychological and social consequences. An understanding of ageing self-concepts is particularly important given the increasingly ageing Australian population. In this thesis, a review of the previous literature on the effects of self-concepts of ageing is provided, and the need for a measure to assess attitudes to ageing is discussed. While there are many tools that have been used to examine self-reported conceptions of one’s own ageing, the current study focuses on the only Australian instrument, the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire (RAQ; Gething, 1994). Study one examines the relationship between socio-demographic, health, lifestyle, cognitive and psychological factors and the RAQ in a sample of 300 Australian women aged 40-79. Scores on psychological and cognitive scales best predicted scores on the RAQ. It was concluded that the RAQ may have limited utility, at the least in a sample of ageing Australian women, but that further research is required to determine the extent of this utility. Study two uses a confirmatory factor analysis strategy to replicate the findings of previous Australian research on the factor structure of the RAQ, using the same sample of women as study one. It also compares factor scores of participants with self-reported depression and anxiety in order to determine how to best interpret scores on the RAQ for clinical populations. The factor structure reported in past research was supported by the current sample, strengthening the psychometric properties of the RAQ. Factor scores on the RAQ, were, however, significantly correlated to self-reported anxiety and depression, suggesting that the use of total scores on the RAQ as a measure of attitudes to ageing is appropriate for individuals with anxiety and depression. Study two also examines the causes of attitudes to ageing by comparing scores on the RAQ to scores on a measure of attitudes to ageing and stereotypes of ageing. Scores on the RAQ were not related to either ageing stereotypes or knowledge of the ageing process, and it was concluded that further research is needed to establish potential causes of attitudes to ageing. Findings are discussed in terms of clinical use of the scale as well as future directions for research. 2010-06-29T00:00:00Z Miss Michelle Tyack http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:259286 Anger problems after paediatric Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) are well documented. Anger and its associated aggressive behavioural consequences are known to have negative effects on the child’s developmental trajectory, often leading to delinquency, academic failure, and conduct problems in their adolescence and adulthood. Unfortunately, there are large costs of untreated anger episodes to the child, the child’s caregivers, and to the community at large. Despite the need for intervention, there are few studies investigating the most effective way to manage anger within the paediatric ABI population. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effectiveness of an anger management intervention in a paediatric ABI population. Chapter 1 includes a literature review of paediatric brain injury and emotion regulation. Specifically, the prevalence and social and emotional consequences of ABI in children is discussed. Possible explanations for the occurrence of such emotion regulation difficulties will be explored, with a focus on the physiology of anger and the link to brain injuries. Factors that been linked to outcomes after ABI will also be discussed, including neurological, cognitive, psychological, social, and family variables. Given that the majority of methodologically sound research is in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) there will be a particular focus on this population. Chapter 2 leads a critique on current anger interventions after ABI. Various anger management interventions will be explored, along with recommendations from this intervention research into how an effective program may work with an ABI population. A program was chosen to be used with children with ABI from this critique: Tony Attwood’s “Exploring Feelings: CBT for Anger” (Attwood, 2004). Chapter 3 explores the aims and research questions of this pilot study. The main research question was whether a cognitive-behavioural group anger management intervention could be effective in children with ABIs. The secondary aim was to identify which population this program may be best targeted at in the future. Additional factors related to ABI were explored to see if they influenced the outcome of the program. Chapter 4 is devoted to the method section, including the participants, measures, and procedures involved. Specifically, the program utilised is highly structured and includes six sessions, each of two hours duration. Sessions focus on teaching new skills to encourage the cognitive control of emotions. Seven children, aged 10 to 14, were included in the analysis of the program’s outcome. Chapter 5 examines the results of the intervention. It specifically focuses on the program outcomes, in terms of parent and child self report of anger. It was found that while the program did not seem to reduce child anger, it appeared to change the way in which the child displayed their anger. Specifically, the children were more likely to control their anger after the intervention rather than display their anger outwardly. This effect was maintained at 12 week follow up. Chapter 6 presents three illustrative case studies of children who the program was either effective for or produced variable outcomes. It involves a discussion of factors that might have influenced the program’s outcomes, including social, psychological, and parent variables. Finally, Chapter 7 is devoted to the discussion of the program outcomes. While there were several limitations noted within the design and methodology of the study, the program outcomes were promising. Further investigation of the CBT program should occur, incorporating more rigorous empirical evaluation. 2011-10-24T00:00:00Z Miss Elizabeth Beadle http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:275864 Can Mainstream Assessment Tools be Used to Assess Murri kids? 1 Abstract Currently there exists a large body of evidence that suggests that standardised psychological cognitive and emotional assessment tools are inappropriate to use in certain populations such as non western populations including Indigenous people. Within Australia there is limited research investigating this issue. Currently Indigenous Australians are either assessed using the same measures and procedures used with mainstream populations, or not assessed at all on the grounds that mainstream assessments procedures are culturally inappropriate. The focus of the current research project is Indigenous education. Within the education system Indigenous children are assessed using standardised intelligence assessment tools to determine current cognitive functioning. The current research investigates how school attainment measures correlate with adaptive functioning and measures of psychological (behavioural. social and emotional) functioning. It was predicted that attainment would be influenced by both cognitive and psychological factors. A sample of 19 Aboriginal students from the Murri School in Brisbane were administered an assessment battery (WISC-IV, CBCL, WASC-Y and Vineland II) in order to determine their current cognitive and psychological functioning. The association between these measures and academic attainment was investigated. Results found that there was considerable variability within the indices that made up the FSIQ and a large percentage of the sample achieved FSIQs that could not be interpreted. There was no association between psychological and cognitive functioning. There was no clear relationship between cognitive or psychological functioning and academic attainment. Closing the gap in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non Indigenous students must address the reasons Indigenous students are not achieving in the classroom. It was concluded that the use of mainstream assessment measures will fail to identify these factors. Assessment procedures should be revised and more culturally appropriate measures developed. 2012-06-19T00:00:00Z Katherine Williams http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:218715 Many studies have shown that individuals with anxiety have a bias towards attending to and processing objects that are threatening in nature when compared to individuals with low levels of anxiety. Fewer studies, however, have assessed the presence of biases in visual processing during various stages of visual sensory encoding. To this end, the current study investigated the effects of state and trait anxiety on preconscious selective attention towards threat, by employing attentional blink (AB) and object-substitution masking (OSM) paradigms, in which participants viewed neutral or angry face targets. A second area that has received little attention is how threat processing occurs in anxious children compared to their adult counterparts. To investigate this issue, we tested both adult (Study 1) and child (Study 2) participants. Study 1 involved one hundred 1st year psychology students who completed a self report scale (STAI) yielding scores of Trait and State anxiety. Study 2 involved seventy-four children aged between 7- 12 years who completed the STAI-C. Results indicated that adults with High State Anxiety displayed a reduced attentional blink (AB) which was not affected by target type. However, a reliable AB was not found for children in the current study, a finding that was most likely impacted by the task difficulty and age group used, rather than by anxiety per se. Results from the OSM task indicated that adults and children, irrespective of anxiety level, were generally more vigilant for threat than neutral faces. Moreover, in the adult sample, increased State and Trait Anxiety was linked with more masking overall. By contrast, in the child sample, there was no effect of anxiety on OSM. These findings suggest that adults engage in early level suppression of threatening information while children do not, perhaps broadly indicating that anxiety may shape perception, rather than visual perceptual pathways shaping anxiety development. 2010-10-18T00:00:00Z Ms Felisa Golingi http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:190938 Past research has provided support for a link between childhood anxiety disorders and parenting behaviours characterised by overinvolvement and overcontrol (Hudson & Rapee, 2002; Gar & Hudson, 2008). However, little research has investigated the link between such parenting behaviours and risk factors for childhood anxiety. The studies discussed here investigated the relationship between maternal behaviours during a short interaction task with four- to seven-year-old children meeting risk factors for childhood anxiety, or mild to moderate anxiety diagnoses. Study 1 compared children who met two well known risk factors for anxiety, or who currently met a mild anxiety diagnosis (the Intervention Group, n=27), to children who did not meet either the risk factors or an anxiety diagnosis (the Control Group, n=31). Mother-child interactions were observed whilst the dyads discussed the children completing a short speech task. An independent observer, blind to the child’s condition, rated each mother-child interaction on a nine-point family interaction scale, adapted from a similar scale used in past research (Gar & Hudson, 2008; Hudson & Rapee, 2001; 2002; Cobham, Dadds & Spence, 1999). Results showed that mothers of children in the Intervention group exhibited significantly greater overinvolved, overcontrolling behaviour during the interaction task compared to mothers of children in the Control Group. Study 2 further examined ten children in the Intervention Group from Study 1 whose parents completed a six-week intervention aimed at providing psychoeducation and anxiety management strategies. Study 2 investigated if the intervention would reduce the intensity of maternal involvement during a second short interaction task. Results of Study 2 showed that the six-week intervention was found to significantly reduce the level of maternal involvement during the interaction task. The results of the studies discussed here support and extend the relationship found in past research by indicating that maternal overinvolvement can also be found in children who are at risk of, or showing early signs, of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, the results suggest that a short parent intervention may be able to reduce the level of maternal overinvolved behaviours. 2009-12-23T00:00:00Z Mrs Crystal McMullen http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:177372 The present study examined relations between stress and coping predictors and negative and positive adjustment outcomes in colorectal cancer caregiving. A total of 622 carers and their care-recipients completed questionnaires. Some care-recipient data was also collected via completed computer-assisted telephone interviews. Predictors included care-recipient quality of life and cancer stage, carer gender, age, employment restriction, social support (satisfaction and availability), appraisal (stress, control and challenge) and coping (acceptance and problem solving, avoidance, substance use, religion, humour and seeking social support). Dependent variables were positive affect, satisfaction with life, positive states of mind, distress, and subjective health status. Correlations supported most hypothesised relations between the stress and coping predictors and adjustment outcomes. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for the effects of relevant background variables (carer age, carer gender, care-recipient quality of life, cancer stage and prevention from work), better carer adjustment was related to higher satisfaction with social support, lower stress appraisal and less reliance on avoidance and substance use coping, as hypothesised. Better carer adjustment refers to lower distress, higher positive affect, positive states of mind and life satisfaction, and better subjective physical health. Of the model predictors, in general stress appraisal emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of all positive and negative adjustment outcomes assessed. Findings support the utility of the stress and coping model in understanding adjustment to caregiving in colorectal cancer. The results are discussed with reference to future research and practical implications. 2009-04-30T00:00:00Z Ms Amber Fitzell http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159473 2008-11-26T00:00:00Z George, Susan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:276997 Abstract Individuals with Asperger syndrome have difficulty understanding, receiving and expressing appropriate forms and levels of affectionate behaviours and this can have a great impact on their lives (Attwood, 2007). The purpose of the current study was to further evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural intervention program (Encouraging Friendship Skills in Children with Asperger syndrome) aimed at improving the affectionate communication and friendship skills in children with Asperger syndrome. The pilot study of this program, conducted by Sofronoff, Eloff, Sheffield and Attwood (2011), was extended in the current study by conducting a randomised-controlled trial of the intervention program. Fifty-eight children with Asperger syndrome (aged 7 to 12 years) were recruited to participate and were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 29) or waitlist-control (n = 29) condition. Parent-report measures indicated that, relative to the waitlist-control group, children in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in the overall appropriateness of their affectionate behaviour to others following the program. More specifically, significant improvements were reported in the appropriate expression of affection to others after the program and this finding was maintained at three month follow-up. In addition, parents reported significant improvements in the communication of empathy to others at follow-up. Children in the intervention group’s understanding regarding the purpose of affection approached significance. Further, no significant change in children’s general difficulties with affectionate behaviour and social competence was reported by parents following the intervention. When data from both conditions were pooled, and greater power was available, results revealed significant improvements in children’s overall affectionate behaviour to others (including giving affection, receiving affection and communicating empathy to others), understanding of the function of affectionate behaviour, social competence and anxiety. Overall, this study indicates that children with Asperger syndrome can be taught to interact more appropriately. The limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed. 2012-07-06T00:00:00Z Mrs Lize Andrews http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:172956 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder of childhood that is increasingly diagnosed in adults. Optimal pharmacological treatment for the disorder has not yet been established. Stimulant medication has remained the mainstay of treatment, but recent research suggests that anticonvulsant medication may also be useful in the treatment of ADHD symptoms in adults. The present retrospective study examined the effectiveness of a combined regime of stimulant and low dose anticonvulsant medication for the treatment of ADHD symptoms in an outpatient population of 28 adults. Measures used to assess improvements in symptoms included the Conners’ Adults ADHD Rating Scale(CAARS), the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test, and a visual analogue scale (VAS) used to measure the participants self-reported improvements in overall functioning. It was hypothesised that the addition of anticonvulsant medication would lead to improvements in self and observer rated symptoms on the CAARS scale, beyond those observed when stimulant medication was administered alone. Another hypothesis stated that participants would rate themselves as having improved in overall functioning since commencing anticonvulsant medication, and that the degree of improvement would be similar to that experienced when they first commenced stimulant treatment. Finally, there was an expectation that participants’ performance on the DEM test would improve following the introduction of anticonvulsant medication, providing evidence for enhanced cognitive functioning. Results showed that participants rated their symptoms as significantly less severe following the introduction of anticonvulsant medication to their treatment regime. However, the participant’s relatives or significant others did not note a significant change in ADHD symptoms when anticonvulsant medication was used in conjunction with stimulant medication. As expected, participants rated themselves as having improved in overall functioning following the introduction of anticonvulsant medication to their stimulant treatment regime and the level of improvement was comparable to that experienced after they were first treated with stimulant medication. Following the introduction of anticonvulsant medication, the time it took participants to complete the horizontal subtest of the DEM test significantly improved. No significant results were found for the vertical and ratio scores on the DEM test. These findings provide evidence that low dose anticonvulsant medication may be safely used in conjunction with stimulant medication to improve ADHD symptoms in adults. There is also evidence to suggest that the addition of anticonvulsant medication leads to an improvement in perception of overall functioning. Low dose anticonvulsant treatment may improve some cognitive functions,specifically oculomotor eye movements in adults diagnosed with ADHD. The results of this investigation provide preliminary support for the use of anticonvulsant medication in conjunction with stimulant medication for the treatment of ADHD symptoms. However, several methodological limitations restrict the generalisability of the results, and placebo-controlled randomised trials are needed to further investigate the use to anticonvulsant medication in this population. 2009-03-31T00:00:00Z Mr Gabriel Roux http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:212718 Asperger's syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that persists throughout the lifespan. The reported prevalence of the syndrome has varied, and is not yet well established for individuals above 16 years of age. Research on gender differences is limited, and in particular, little is known about female phenomenology. The current thesis contained two parts. The first study gathered a clinical sample of 2483 individuals with autistic spectrum conditions aged up to 75 years of age to calculate epidemiology. The prevalence per 1000 was 5.16 for Asperger's syndrome, with a male to female ratio of 3.48:1. Mean age of diagnosis was 14.32 years. The most frequent co-morbid diagnosis was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), followed by anxiety and mood disorders. Females displayed a higher rate of co-morbid internalising disorders, and males a higher rate of ADHD and Tourette's syndrome. The second part of the study examined the female phenomenology of Asperger’s syndrome from interviews with four adolescents and one adult female. Results indicated a number of themes that were unique and similar to male presentation. Unique themes were a positive school experience, enjoyment of creative school subjects, non-eccentric and gender specific interests, and fantasy and imaginary play. The strengths and limitations of the study were discussed, as were the future implications for research and clinical practice. Results emphasised the need for further all-age inclusive, and gender specific research to be undertaken, to obtain more accurate epidemiology, which will guide the refining of diagnostic methods and treatment of Asperger's syndrome. 2010-08-19T00:00:00Z Ms Aleisha Atkin http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:229667 Abstract Aims: (1) To examine the cognitive and psychosocial functioning of a cohort of subacute first-ever stroke patients assessed within 3 weeks of stroke onset and at 3 and 6 months post-stroke. (2) To compare their cognitive and psychological functioning to an age- and education-matched reference group. (3) To examine their quality of life (QOL) following discharge. Method: Seventeen first-ever ischaemic stroke patients (M = 67.1 years, SD = 9.51) were assessed with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and other cognitive tests and psychosocial measures at a hospital following admission for stroke. The follow-up assessments were conducted at the patients’ homes. Results: At the subacute stage, around 74% of the patients were impaired in one or more domains of the RBANS. The most frequently affected domains were immediate memory, delayed memory, attention and visuospatial/constructional. At the follow-up assessments, around 58% of the patients were still impaired. Associations between the total scale score at Time 1 (T1) revealed strong significant correlations with immediate memory (r =.75), attention (r =.69), delayed memory (r =.69) and total scale score (r = .79) at T3. Compared with the reference group, the performance of stroke survivors was generally lower on all domains. At T1 there were statistically significant differences between the two groups on delayed memory and total scale score. At Time 2 (T2) statistically significant differences were noted on language, attention and total scale scores. On the psychological measures, more than 50% of the stroke patients had anxiety symptoms and around 29% had depressive symptoms at baseline and the prevalence of both symptoms decreased marginally over the two follow-up assessments. The prevalence of these symptoms was higher in stroke patients compared with the reference group at both assessments. The performance of stroke patients on the RAND 36-Item Survey 1.0 from T1 to Time 3 (T3) was generally much lower on all the subscales compared to Australian normative data. Physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, and social functioning were the most impaired dimensions at T1. Statistically significant increases between T1 and T2 were noted only in the social functioning domain. Conclusions: Findings suggest that cognitive impairments, anxiety and depression are frequent and often chronic consequences of stroke. These impairments may have a detrimental impact on stroke survivors’ QOL. Early cognitive testing of subacute stroke patients may have some predictive utility. 2011-02-20T00:00:00Z Dr Astrid Fernandes http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:288816 Abstract The effects of disability in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on an individual’s perception of their parenting role have largely been neglected in the current literature. Additionally, little is known about the impact co-parenting with a person with MS has on the healthy partner’s perception of their own parenting role. The protective role of high levels of marital adjustment has been documented, but the role it plays in buffering the negative effects of high levels of MS-related disability on parenting outcomes is not known. Depression and anxiety are affective disorders that commonly coexist with MS, and have been shown to negatively impact parenting. However, there are limited studies that examine both physical and psychological dimensions of disability even though they often co-occur in MS. Parental MS has been associated with poorer outcomes for children. Therefore, it is important to identify the predictors of parenting outcomes to inform the development of appropriate supports and consequently improve outcomes for parents and their children. The purpose of this research was to examine the associations between MS related physical disability, cognitive impairment, depression and anxiety, and marital adjustment on parenting outcomes (assessed as parenting satisfaction and efficacy, and family conflict and cohesion) in the parent with MS and their “healthy” partner. Additionally, the moderating effect of marital adjustment was examined to establish if high marital adjustment buffers the negative effects of high levels of disability in the person with MS. Finally, obtained scores for depression, anxiety and parenting outcomes were compared with normative population data to determine how they were different in these dimensions from people from the general population. Two studies were conducted to address these aims. A sample of 146 parents with MS completed self-report questionnaires in the first study. It was hypothesised that higher levels of MS-related disability would be related to poorer parenting outcomes (lower parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction and family cohesion and higher family conflict) and higher levels of marital adjustment would be related to better parenting outcomes (higher parenting self-efficacy and satisfaction and family cohesion and lower family conflict). Results partially supported these hypotheses. It was revealed that increases in anxiety predicted more family conflict. Additionally, in line with the spillover hypothesis on the interrelatedness of the marital and parent-child relationships, higher marital adjustment was associated with more family cohesion and less conflict. It was also hypothesised that marital adjustment would moderate the adverse effects of MS-related disability on parenting outcomes. However, contrary to predictions the buffering effect of marital adjustment on parenting efficacy was only found in low levels of depression. Indicating that for MS parent efficacy marital adjustment failed to protect against high levels of depression. However, a marginally significant interaction in the direction predicted found that marital adjustment buffered the effects of high anxiety on family conflict. In Study 2, self-report questionnaires were completed by 87 “healthy” parents and their MS parent partners. It was again hypothesised that higher levels of MS-related disability would be related to poorer parenting outcomes and greater marital adjustment would be related to better parenting outcomes. A single unique predictor of parenting outcomes was identified. Higher depression was associated with less family cohesion reported by healthy parents. Consistent with Study 1, higher levels of marital adjustment were significantly related to more family cohesion and less family conflict for healthy parents. The final hypothesis predicting that marital adjustment would moderate the adverse effects of MS-related disability on parenting outcomes was not supported in Study 2. In sum, the current research found that greater anxiety predicted more family conflict in MS parents and there was a trend to suggest that marital adjustment buffers this effect. Higher levels of MS parent depression predicted less family cohesion for healthy parents. Greater marital adjustment predicted more family cohesion and less family conflict for both MS and healthy parents. For MS parents, marital adjustment buffered the effects of low depression on parenting efficacy, but failed to protect against high depression. MS parents scored significantly higher than the population norms in depression and anxiety and less in satisfaction, while healthy parents were higher in family cohesion and less in family conflict than the general population. Both MS and healthy parents were significantly higher in parenting efficacy and lower in parenting satisfaction than the normative group. No significant differences from the norms were found in marital adjustment for both parents. The limitations and empirical findings of this research were discussed, along with the practical implications of the research findings. The necessity for further longer-term studies with larger sample sizes was emphasised, and recommendations for the conduct of such future studies were made.  2013-01-11T11:26:16Z Nakeeta Sturgess http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:206146 Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood in Australia, affecting approximately 12% of children aged 0-15 years. Parents play a crucial role in ensuring effective asthma management for children, yet there is a paucity of literature examining the general difficulties experienced by parents and factors that contribute to sub-optimal management. The purpose of this research was to determine the feasibility and utility of an intervention for parents of children with asthma, and to identify the child behaviours and asthma management tasks parents find most problematic, as well as the assistance they desire. A single-case evaluation of a tailored parenting intervention was conducted concurrent with an online survey and parent interview study. Participants in the three studies were parents of children with asthma aged 2-12 years, recruited via school newsletter advertisements throughout Australia and from a local clinic population. Results indicated that the most problematic child behaviours were anxiety associated with breathing difficulties, forgetting the inhaler, and complaining about symptoms. The most problematic management tasks were identifying and avoiding asthma triggers, and recognising and managing an attack. Nearly half of parents surveyed (49.7%) were concerned about how to best manage their child’s asthma, while over a third (37.1%) desired additional assistance with managing their child’s asthma. Evaluation of the parenting intervention indicated a reduction in the frequency of problematic asthma-related child behaviours and parenting tasks, and an increase in parental confidence in managing both behaviours and management tasks. There was also a clinically significant improvement in parenting style and reduction in general behaviour difficulties, which were maintained at follow-up. This research offers preliminary support for the feasibility and utility of a tailored parenting intervention in assisting parents to better manage children’s behaviour and to improve asthma-related health outcomes. 2010-06-14T00:00:00Z Ms Caroline Gregory http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:199130 Abstract Children with Asperger syndrome have marked impairments in understanding affection and expressing appropriate levels or types of affection. Affectionate behaviour that comes naturally to typically developing people generally requires a great deal of effort for those with Asperger syndrome. These difficulties could potentially have a negative impact on the child and those around them (e.g., parental distress, poor interpersonal relationships, abuse, and legal issues). The present research was exploratory in nature and aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioural intervention, ‘Exploring Feelings: Affection’, which targets difficulties with affectionate communication in children with Asperger syndrome. Two studies, a pilot study and a trial of the intervention, were conducted. The aim of the pilot study was to identify any problems with the programme prior to conducting the trial. The purpose of the trial was to address two research questions. Firstly, what is the nature of the relationship between affectionate communication in Asperger syndrome and: (a) tactile sensitivity, (b) social ability, (c) child anxiety, (d) parenting stress, and (e) parental distress? Secondly, can the cognitive-behavioural intervention produce improvements in children with Asperger syndrome’s understanding and expression of affection? Twenty-one children (aged 7 to 12 years) were included in the trial. The children participated in five 2-hour weekly sessions while parents participated in a larger parent group. The results showed significant correlations between measures of affection and tactile sensitivity, social ability, child anxiety, parenting stress, and parental distress. The findings further indicated that after attending the 5-week programme parents did not report significant changes in their children’s general difficulties with affectionate communication or in the number of affectionate behaviours with which children experienced difficulty. There were, however, significant increases in the overall appropriateness of children’s affectionate behaviour both towards their immediate family and towards people outside their immediate family, but there were no significant improvements in the appropriateness of children’s responses to the affection they received from others. A marked increase was reported in the number of children that were described by parents as engaging in more adequate levels of affectionate behaviour both towards their parents and towards individuals outside their immediate family. Moreover, there was a significant improvement in the children’s understanding regarding the purpose of affection. Parents’ confidence in dealing with difficult affection behaviours did not change significantly over the course of the intervention. All these findings were maintained at 3-month follow-up. The present research produced valuable information and added to the literature on affectionate communication in children with Asperger syndrome. It appears that the ‘Exploring Feelings: Affection’ programme may be a useful intervention for improving affectionate behaviour in some children with Asperger syndrome. 2010-03-14T00:00:00Z Mr Johann Eloff http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:230076 ABSTRACT AND OVERVIEW Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurobiological developmental disability that affects an individual’s social skills, communication, and language acquisition from early childhood. A review of assessment tools presented in Chapter 1 showed that few of them are both available and suitable for monitoring the progress made by 3–5-year-olds with autism undertaking early intervention programs: no single test covered all the specific areas that were relevant to a program’s objectives, and they proved not to be appropriate (e.g., could not be used with non-verbal children) or economical in terms of both time and cost when used in a community-based early intervention centre. As detailed in Chapter 1, there is a clear need for an improved method of monitoring a child’s progress over time, and a method that allows monitoring the child’s progress independently by parents and staff. The primary aim of the work reported in this thesis was to devise and evaluate a behavioural monitoring instrument that could be used with 3–5-year-olds undertaking early intervention programs. This tool, referred to as the Autism Behavioural Monitoring Scale (ABMS), aims to provide a practical method of data collection that can be used by both parents and staff, and which achieves sound criteria in terms of validity and reliability. The review presented in Chapter 1 argues that six primary functional domains of behaviour needed to be assessed. Two of these were language and social skills; the others were four functional self-care domains relating to dressing, hygiene, toileting and feeding. These six domains constituted the base for six sub-scales of the ABMS. Chapter 2 provides further details of the development of the ABMS and provides an empirical investigation of the ABMS’s validity and reliability on two testing occasions when used by parents and staff. To evaluate the concurrent validity of the ABMS, a further assessment instrument was included for comparison purposes. This was the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS), an instrument commonly used with this population and previously (and currently) used by the early intervention centres where this project was conducted. Based upon the data for 24 ASD children, and collected over two years, the results show that the ABMS has high internal consistency and item validity (Cronbach Alpha greater than .80 for most scales across test occasions and raters). It also showed high inter-rater reliability for parents and staff (correlation from .71 to .99) and Test-Retest reliability (correlation from .71 to .99). Concurrent validity was also very sound in comparison with the GARS, particularly on the second testing occasion (significant inter-correlations for all scales). Concurrent validity was weaker on the first test occasion, possibly because the GARS was poorer at evaluating non-verbal children. Across all these evaluations of validity and reliability it was generally found that the ABMS was superior to the GARS. MANOVAs conducted on the data from the ABMS and GARS revealed that significant interactions occurred across testing occasions, when comparing parents and staff ratings on the scales. While all scales in the ABMS and GARS detected general improvement during the course of the intervention, it was shown that on average, the improvements reported by staff were greater than those reported by parents. Chapter 3 evaluates the clinical and applied implications of the results reported in Chapter 2 by means of an empirical investigation based on a series of case studies. The aim of this chapter was to illustrate how the ABMS improves upon, and gives additional data to, that available from the GARS and other assessment instruments. The focus is on what is helpful to staff and practitioners involved in the behavioural monitoring and planning of early intervention programs. The thesis concludes (Chapter 4) with a summary of the main implications and conclusions arising out of this project. 2011-02-24T00:00:00Z Ms Sarah Littmann-Power http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:285808 Impairments in word repetition and comprehension are common in individuals with aphasia. Repetition deficits have traditionally been ascribed to a disconnection of a left hemisphere dorsal white matter pathway, the arcuate fascicle (Geschwind, 1965), whereas comprehension deficits have been attributed to lesions of the left temporal lobe (Turken & Dronkers, 2011). Voxelwise lesion symptom mapping (LSM) is a relatively new technique that tests the statistical significance of the relationship between behavioral performance and lesions delineated on brain images. Interestingly, recent LSM studies investigating the neural correlates of repetition deficits have implicated a gray matter region in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), rather than the arcuate fascicle (Baldo, Katseff, & Dronkers, 2011; Fridriksson et al., 2010). In addition, recent neuroimaging research has implicated a left hemisphere ventral white matter pathway, either the extreme capsule (Saur et al., 2008; Wong, Chandrasekaran, Garibaldi, & Wong, 2011) or the inferior occipito-frontal fascicle (de Zubicaray, Rose, & McMahon, 2011; Turken & Dronkers, 2011), in comprehension. The aim of the current study was to investigate the anatomical correlates of both repetition and comprehension, as assessed by the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), a standardized clinical aphasia battery. Participants were 21 chronic stroke patients who had suffered a left hemisphere lesion. Participants suffered from a range of aphasic impairments at different levels of severity. Two WAB indices, repetition and comprehension, were used in the analyses. Residual scores for each index were also calculated by statistically covarying for the influence of each (e.g., Schwartz et al., 2011). Based on a priori hypotheses region-of-interest (ROI) LSM analyses were conducted. Our results confirmed that left TPJ lesions are associated with repetition deficits, although not with the arcuate fascicle, consistent with prior studies. Further, the results indicated that comprehension deficits were associated with lesions in the vicinity of the left posterior superior temporal gyrus/sulcus, with some additional involvement of the underlying white matter, although not with lesions to the extreme capsule or inferior occipito-frontal fascicle. These findings support the critical involvement of the TPJ region in repetition and the critical involvement of posterior superior temporal cortex in comprehension. Future studies of dorsal and ventral white matter pathways may benefit from employing Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), an MRI technique that characterizes water molecule mobility and allows for more sensitive exploration of fibre tract integrity. 2012-11-17T20:23:58Z Carly Mayberry http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:202527 Aim: The current study aimed to examine patterns of cognitive functioning in a sample of ageing Australian women, and to examine the effect of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and Arterial Stiffness (AS) on cognitive change over a 5 year follow-up period. Method: A sample of 493 women aged between 40 and 80 years, from the Longitudinal Ageing Women’s study were assessed at baseline and 5 years follow-up. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scales - Third Edition, Picture Completion, Digit Symbol Coding and Symbol Search (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test - Third Edition). Metabolic Syndrome was defined according to NCEP-ATPIII guidelines and AS was measured using carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV). Reliable change methodology with a correction for practice was used to assess cognitive decline over the 5 year follow-up period. Ordinal and logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of cognitive decline over the follow-up period. Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed an age-related decline on memory and cognitive speed measures with a greater decline in participants over 60 years old. Seventeen percent of participants met the criteria for MS at baseline. There was no difference between individuals with MS and those without MS on any of the memory measures. Participants with MS performed significantly worse on two of the cognitive speed measures yet the effect size was small. A significant inverse relationship existed between PWV and all cognitive measures at baseline. The incidence of MS at follow-up decreased, yet PWV continued to increase. Metabolic Syndrome (OR=1.13-2.91 ) and PWV (OR= 1.00-2.21) at baseline were significant independent predictors of reliable cognitive decline on a cognitive composite score. Additionally, PWV at baseline predicted reliable decline on the Working Memory Index and both MS and PWV independently predicted reliable decline on the Picture Completion subtest over the 5 year follow-up period. Conclusion: The current study indicates that individuals with MS or higher PWV are at an increased risk of cognitive decline over a 5 year period. Possible mechanisms Cardiovascular Predictors of Cognitive Decline accounting for this relationship, practical implications and limitations of the findings of the current study are discussed. 2010-04-12T00:00:00Z Miss Michele Andrews http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:261364 This dissertation investigates characteristics of parents of children with anxiety disorders before and after their participation in Fear-less Triple P (Cobham & Sanders, 2010), a 6-session parent-only CBT intervention aimed at providing treatment for childhood anxiety disorders through parenting training. Study 1 compared the views of parents of children without anxiety disorders with the views of these parents who were about to begin the intervention program. A total of twenty-one parents (twelve with children with anxiety disorders and nine with non-clinical controls) participated in this study. Data were collected through semi-structured parental interviews and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes obtained were classified into three main areas of: 1) parental views of children’s anxiety, 2) estimation of own and children’s coping abilities, and 3) parenting styles in managing children’s anxiety. Study 2 examined whether parents' views about anxiety and their parenting changed after the parents attended the intervention program. Using the same methods as Study 1, the main themes from semi-structured interviews of the parents prior to and after the Fear-less Triple P participation were compared. The comparison suggested changes in the aforementioned three parental areas. Upon program completion, a theme emerged regarding the parents’ perception of the reduction in their children's anxiety as well as the increase in the parents’ and their children’s abilities to cope with anxiety. Analysis of themes suggests that after completing the program, parents of children with anxiety disorders had views and parenting that were more similar to those of parents of children without anxiety disorders. Findings suggest that Fear-less Triple P is beneficial in changing parents’ perspectives and management of childhood anxiety disorders. Implications of these findings are discussed, together with recommendations for future research. 2011-11-14T00:00:00Z Kullaya Pisitsungkagarn http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:173607 There are an estimated one million children living in Australia who have a parent with a mental illness (Maybery, Reupert, Patrick, Goodyear, & Crase, 2005). These children are more likely than their peers with ‘healthy’ parents to experience poorer outcomes in a variety of domains (Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association [AICAFMHA], 2001), and may be presented with the unique experiences and challenges of performing within a caregiving role for their parent (Aldridge & Becker, 1993). The observation that not all children in this situation are adversely affected by parental mental illness (Silverman, 1989) led to the application of resilience theory to this group, and the identification of risk and protective factors related to the individual, the parent’s illness, the family environment, and social circumstances. While a great amount of research has focused on the relationships between resilience factors and adjustment outcomes, there has been almost no research published regarding resilience and caregiving experiences. The dominance of resilience theory in this area has guided the development of interventions for children who have a parent with a mental illness. Reviews of interventions for children of parents with mental illness indicate the need for evidence-based practice, including the development of theoretical foundations for intervention design and the implementation of formally evaluated interventions (Davis, Martin, Kosky, & O’Hanlon, 2000; Fraser, James, Anderson, Lloyd, & Judd, 2006). The present research aimed to partially meet this need by providing an in-depth review of the theoretical basis and design of a psychoeducative peer support group intervention for young people aged 12 to 18 years who are affected by parental mental illness and conducting an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of this intervention. In addition, the present research explored the relationship between resilience factors and both adjustment outcomes and caregiving experiences of children of parents with mental illness. The intervention utilised within this research was the Koping Adolescent Program (KAP), facilitated in Brisbane by the Child and Youth Mental Health Service within the Royal Children’s Hospital and Health Service District of Queensland Health. An in-depth review of KAP was conducted according to recommendations regarding the design, development, and evaluation of interventions arising from reviews of interventions for children of parents with mental illness (Fraser et al., 2006) and for children and young people in general (Davis et al., 2000). It was demonstrated that the main theoretical bases for KAP were the resilience model and a model of early and preventative intervention, both of which are supported via the use of a peer support format. The goals of KAP were clarified as: increased mental health literacy, social connectedness, and repertoire of coping strategies; and intervention content was reviewed in consideration of these. Consultation regarding the design and implementation of KAP was sought from previous facilitators and participants of the intervention. A trial of the revised KAP was conducted with 6 participants, resulting in some additional minor modifications to the intervention. Review of KAP lead to the redevelopment of a theoretically sound intervention, provided scope for the creation of a formalised manual for KAP, and prepared KAP for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention. The effectiveness of KAP was evaluated using a treatment (pre-, post-, and 8 week follow-up phase) and waitlist control (pre- and post-phase) design. The treatment (n = 27) and control (n = 17) groups were compared on three groups of dependent variables: intervention targets (mental health literacy, social connectedness, and coping strategies), adjustment outcomes (depressive symptomatology, life satisfaction, prosocial behaviour, and emotional/behavioural difficulties), and caregiving experiences. Group comparisons failed to show statistically significant intervention effects. However, reliable clinical change analyses suggested that compared to the control group, more intervention participants demonstrated clinically significant improvements in mental health literacy, depressive symptomatology, and life satisfaction. These treatment gains were maintained 8 weeks after the conclusion of treatment. The feedback collected from participant satisfaction data supported these treatment gains. Given the study limitations and the modest support for intervention effectiveness, the findings of this study highlight the necessity that this and other similar interventions continue to be revised and undergo rigorous evaluation. A short-term (4 weeks) longitudinal study was used to examine the relationships between Time 1 (n = 44) resilience factors (mental health literacy, social connectedness, and coping strategies) and Time 2 (n = 40) adjustment outcomes (depressive symptomatology, life satisfaction, prosocial behaviour, and emotional/behavioural difficulties), controlling for corresponding Time 1 adjustment outcomes. The relationships between resilience and caregiving experiences were similarly examined. It was predicted that greater mental health literacy, social connectedness, and reliance on voluntary engagement coping strategies, and less reliance on disengagement and involuntary coping strategies would be associated with better adjustment outcomes and with less adverse caregiving experiences. Overall, there was weak support for the predicted beneficial effects of mental health literacy on adjustment, stronger support for the existence of beneficial relationships between social connectedness and caregiving experiences, and strong support for the adverse effects of disengagement and involuntary coping strategies with respect to adjustment. There was no support for predictions regarding the relationships between disengagement and involuntary coping strategies and caregiving experiences, or the relationships between voluntary engagement coping and adjustment. Finally, there was mixed evidence of associations between voluntary engagement coping and less adverse caregiving experiences. The findings of the study raise implications regarding the actual relationships between adjustment outcomes and commonly promoted resilience factors, and the need for further research into resilience and caregiving experiences. Strengths, limitations, and implications of the research are discussed, and suggestions for future directions in this area are provided, with emphasis on the need for further research in relation to the resilience of children of parents with mental illness and the subsequent development and evaluation of interventions for this group. 2009-04-02T00:00:00Z Eliza Fraser http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:220143 Abstract Alzheimer's Australia (2008) reported that the dementia population of Australia at that time totalled some 227,300 people. At the same time, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) listed Australia's over 65’s population at around 2.8 million. Within this context, approximately 8% of Australia's older adult population has been diagnosed with a dementia-related illness and, as a result, requires varying levels of care from either a loved one or a professional carer. On a global scale, the expectation is that the dementia population will double every 20 years (Ferri et al., 2005). In Australia, it is expected that the dementia population will quadruple between the years 2000 and 2050 (Access Economics, 2005). The same report further states that if accurate, this will mean that approximately 2.8% of Australia’s predicted population will have been diagnosed with a dementia-related illness by 2050. While Australia’s rate is slightly below that predicted at a global level, it nonetheless means that the ratio of carers-to-care receivers will dramatically change across time, placing a greater burden on society for adequate numbers of carers. Much research has been published measuring the impact of such responsibilities on the family carer in terms of the associated psychological and physiological burden. Conversely, a comparatively small amount of research has looked at utilising the intact functionality of the dementia patient and thereby maximising the potential to improve daily living. Even less prevalent again is research around the impact of the caring role on the professional carer. This, despite the fact that job satisfaction is low, turnover is high, and facilities often struggle to fill staff vacancies (Cheek et al., 2003). Ironically, a rehabilitative treatment framework that promotes the maintenance of functionality in people with dementia has the potential to reduce the psychological and physiological burden commonly associated with the role of a carer (Hawley & Cherry, 2008). Further, there can be a tendency within the aged care industry to assume a need for the provision of a high level of care for extended periods of time for people with dementia in long-term care facilities. Combined with a perceived lack of achievement (i.e., an inability to help the person with dementia get “better” – a philosophy consistent with the medical training model) this outlook has the potential to diminish self-efficacy and reduce the positive aspects that can be associated with the caring process. The following thesis looks specifically at deteriorating memory function within the dementia population. Research to date has provided support for a correlation between increased independence in activities of daily living for the person with dementia and decreased stress and strain on carers (Rosemond & Mercer, 2002). The RECAPS Program (Smith et al., 2010) was developed to provide professional carers with the tools to encourage independent functioning in patients diagnosed with dementia. As a result, it was hypothesised that the professional carers would experience an increase in self-efficacy and an increase in their perception of positive aspects of caring. A cluster randomised control trial design was chosen and included four clusters; three forming the training group (N = 26) and one forming the control group (N = 13). Baseline, immediately post-training (for the training group only), and three month follow-up data were collected for knowledge of memory strategies. Baseline and three month follow-up data were collected for the self-efficacy and positive aspects of caring measures for both groups. Results, while not promising with regards to improved self-efficacy and positive aspects of caring, demonstrated that professional carers do have a positive attitude towards training. The RECAPS Program (Smith et al., 2010) was well received, being described as both easy to understand and implement. The theoretical implications of the research are discussed, and the limitations of the current study, as well as potential future research directions, are explored. 2010-11-10T00:00:00Z Leander Mitchell http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:267741 Cognitive impairment is common in individuals with chronic alcohol dependence and liver damage. Cognitive deficits that commonly present as a result of alcohol dependency, including executive dysfunction, visuo-spatial deficits, and motor impairments, impact on the individual’s ability to engage in activities of daily living. To date, few studies have investigated the cognitive functioning of alcohol-dependent patients during the detoxification period. The present study aims to further our understanding of the cognitive and psychosocial consequences of chronic alcohol dependence and liver damage measured during the detoxification period, and identify any clinical and/or neuropsychological markers which can assist in improved treatment for patients. Aims: The two studies presented in this thesis explored cognitive functioning in adults with alcohol dependence during medicated detoxification. The first study investigated the relationships among measures of alcohol use, liver function, and cognitive function in 142 patients undergoing detoxification. A theoretical model was posited and tested, acknowledging direct and indirect relationships between cognitive function and other variables. The second study was aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of alcohol-dependent patients’ level of cognitive functioning during detoxification using neuropsychological test data from 20 of the patients. The neuropsychological profile was expected to provide a better understanding of the effects of numerous variables, such as chronic alcohol use, multiple detoxifications, and liver damage, on specific neuropsychological domains. The characterisation of neuropsychological profiles for these participants would inform of the extent of damage to the brain by alcohol. The best way to quantify their impairment was thought to be by exploring their individual cognitive decline from estimated pre-morbid levels and comparisons with normative populations. Method: In both studies, cognitive screening and psychosocial functioning data for 142 patients, and comprehensive neuropsychological results for a selected 20 participants, were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics and comparisons to normative samples. Results: In Study 1, the Modified Mini Mental State Examination (3MS) was found to be more sensitive to measures of liver functioning than the verbal fluency tasks. In the total sample, age was significantly correlated with semantic fluency scores, demonstrating an association between increasing age and poorer performance, particularly in males. A significant negative correlation between phonemic fluency scores and serum level of the liver enzyme GGT levels in females suggest potential susceptibility of females to the effects of liver damage with excessive alcohol consumption. However, there was a significant positive correlation between average amounts of alcohol consumption with semantic fluency in females, suggesting an anomaly. Finally, there was an unexpected lack of significant association between the alcohol measures and the measures of cognitive functioning, resulting in the inability to conduct further mediation analyses to confirm the theoretical model posited. In Study 2, the 20 participants demonstrated average to above average estimated pre-morbid cognitive functioning. Their current cognitive functioning, however, was found to be typically below that of the normative sample. Nonetheless, the participants’ verbal skills appeared to be relatively preserved. New visual learning and memory, as well as processing speed were found to be significantly below the mean expected for their age and education. The participants also demonstrated generally mild executive function deficits. Finally, use of a deficit index for each participant revealed that the majority of the participants demonstrated declines in current cognitive functioning based on their estimated pre-morbid cognitive functioning. The single most useful neuropsychological test was identified to be the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (immediate and delayed recall) which showed that these two measures were identifying the most number of participants demonstrating a decline on the test. Discussion: By furthering our understanding of the cognitive and psychosocial sequelae associated with chronic alcohol dependence and alcohol-related liver damage, health services may more appropriately direct resources and target interventions to assist patients during the interim detoxification period to promote optimal care and minimise the risk of relapse. 2012-02-15T00:00:00Z Joy Low http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189295 Transnational education (TNE) has become an important feature of the Australian tertiary education landscape. In TNE, commonly referred to in Australia as offshore delivery of higher education, students reside in a different country to the one where the institution providing the education is based (UNESCO/Council of Europe, 2001). In this study, it is argued that identifying offshore postgraduate coursework students’ understanding of information literacy (IL) will help to facilitate student learning in that context. IL has been described as a broad educational concept concerned with improving students’ ability to access, evaluate, manage and use information, which is essential for lifelong learning (ALA, 1989; Bundy, 2004). Although there have been a number of recent studies examining postgraduate students’ IL, further qualitative research from the learners’ perspective is required. In particular, there is a lack of studies that illuminate IL from the perspective of postgraduate coursework and international offshore students enrolled in Western universities. In this qualitative research study, a phenomenographic approach was used to examine how postgraduate coursework students at one Australian offshore international campus understood IL. Five qualitatively different ways in which these students understood IL were identified: (a) acquiring access to information; (b) conducting an effective search for information; (c) using information practices of a specific information community; (d) a vehicle for developing or demonstrating personal understanding; and (e) communicating a message. Gaining insight into differences in the ways in which postgraduate coursework students understand IL, and the relationships between these different ways of understanding, values these students’ knowledge and can inform teaching and learning. Identifying differences in ways of understanding IL can inform teaching and learning because it provides educators with a basis for creating opportunities to develop postgraduate coursework students’ understanding of IL. Implications for teaching and learning include the need to address: variation in offshore postgraduate coursework students’ understanding of IL; postgraduate coursework students’ technical information skills; differences in the ways in which academic information conventions are understood by postgraduate coursework students; opportunities for postgraduate coursework students to actively engage with information; collaboration amongst academics and librarians; and integration of IL into the curriculum. 2009-12-07T00:00:00Z Ms Judith Mcintyre http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:205700 Abstract Australia has long been an attractive education destination for international tertiary students, particularly those from Asia-Pacific nations (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2007). In particular, Chinese international students have been the main group the international students studying in Australia (Australian Education International, 2009a). Research has shown that international students often experience acculturative stressors, which are manifested in various physical, social and psychological problems. The aim of this study is to examine whether coping strategies along with self-construals (interdependent and independent) mediated or moderated the relationship between acculturative stress and well-being. In this study, international students (N= 160) who are ethnically Chinese completed a battery of five self-reported measures. Well-being in this study was examined by both negative aspect (i.e., psychological distress), and positive aspect (i.e., satisfaction with life). Principal component analysis with a three-factor extraction was performed on the Brief COPE (Scheier & Weintraub, 1989) to ascertain if the three previously determined theoretical coping styles (i.e., emotion-focused, problem-focused, and dysfunctional coping) were appropriate for the population considered in this study. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to explore the moderating and mediating effects of the three coping strategies and self-construals on acculturative stress and psychological outcomes. Principal component analysis of the Brief COPE revealed coping styles that were more appropriate for the consideration of the international students in this study. External emotional management composed of items reflecting emotional support, instrumental support, venting and religion. Internal cognitive management consisted of items such as planning, active coping, acceptance, and positive reframing, while Avoidant coping consisted of humour, denial, behavioural disengagement, self-distraction, substance use, and self-blame. Results indicated that internal cognitive management moderated the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress. Chinese international students who utilised a greater level of internal cognitive management experienced lower levels of psychological distress. In addition, Chinese international students who exhibited a greater independent self-construal showed less psychological distress at high levels of acculturative stress. On the other hand, Chinese international students with high interdependent self-construal experienced greater satisfaction with life, regardless of the level of acculturative stress. Neither coping strategies nor self-construals show any mediating effects. 2010-05-31T00:00:00Z Ms Lena Zhang http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240304 Abstract Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the empirically supported treatment of choice for a wide range of adolescent psychopathology. However, CBT has been criticised for not focusing enough on difficulties in emotion regulation, which is a problem found in around half of the Axis I disorders and all personality disorders. Further, it is suggested that the verbal and meta-cognitive skills in CBT may be difficult and unengaging for adolescents and young people. Music is an engaging and accessible medium favoured by young people that offers several advantages as a vehicle for therapy, such as personal choice, portability and a strong impact on emotional state. This dissertation describes and evaluates Tuned In, a novel music-based emotion regulation intervention for adolescents and young adults. In Study 1, an 8-session version of Tuned In was trialled with a clinical sample (4 adolescents with severe and complex mental health problems; 3 females, 1 male) as part of a hospital outpatient psychiatric program. This preliminary pilot study examined the engagement of these adolescents with the Tuned In program. The results showed that overall engagement, interest, enjoyment and likelihood of continuation of skill use were all rated highly. Study 2 is a randomised controlled trial with 58 university students (67% female) assigned to Tuned In or a wait-list control condition. Treatment consisted of a 6-hour version of the Tuned In program over 4 weeks. Participants were assessed pre and posttreatment on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), as well as weekly ratings on 5 key emotion variables (e.g. awareness of emotional state; confidence in managing emotional states). The participants' attendance and engagement with Tuned In were also measured. Despite a lack of change in mood symptoms during treatment (which remained in the non-clinical range), results of mixed analyses of variance showed a significant difference between the Tuned In participants and the wait-listed controls on 2 of the DERS subscales (Clarity of emotions and Strategies for managing emotions). Data from the entire sample (N=51) was analysed for change on the emotion measures across the 4 weeks of the Tuned In program (as the control participants were offered the intervention following the wait-list period). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant improvement across the program on four of the five emotion variables. Furthermore, mean ratings of engagement with the Tuned In program were high (5.8 out of 7) and the attendance rate was 99%. In conclusion, Tuned In shows promise as a brief emotion regulation intervention that could be adapted for use by a range of mental health professionals working with young people. 2011-04-20T00:00:00Z Miss Carly Fay http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:285764 Rates of overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions worldwide, with Australia showing some of the highest rates in the Western world. Excess weight is associated with a range of physical, social, and psychological consequences. Dieting to lose weight is advocated as a means of addressing weightrelated issues in overweight and obese individuals. However, reviews of the literature report high rates of attrition and weight regain, leading many researchers to question dieting as a reliable weight-loss method. With a large proportion of the Australian population being overweight or obese, it is important that effective weight-loss interventions are developed. Although dieting and weight loss is a popular topic, the reasons why people generally fail to adhere to diets or maintain weight loss remains purely speculative. While researchers have drawn on theoretical models and clinical observations to draw tentative propositions regarding the mechanisms of diet failure, only one study has examined this directly. Green, Larkin, and Sullivan (2009)investigated the explanations for diet failure through a focus group with 10 British dieters. However, the limitations of the Green et al. (2009) study, most notable being the small sample size, prevented the generalisability of the study’s findings and warranted further investigation. The purpose of the current study was then to develop a multi-factorial model of diet failure informed by the literature and dieters themselves. In doing so, the study aimed to broaden the themes reported by Green et al. (2009) by including other processes and factors identified in the dieting literature. The results of the current study support the conceptualisation of diet failure using a multi-factorial model such as that tested in the current study. The main hypotheses of the study were supported, with direct and indirect pathways confirmed to be significantly correlated. Additional and unexpected results of the study included direct relationships central to the dieting literature found to be mediated by other variables and thus, more complex than currently stated in the literature. Collectively, these findings have important theoretical and applied implications. 2012-11-16T11:27:01Z Kiera Buchanan http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:223911 Social anxiety is common, yet at high levels it can be challenging and even incapacitating (Turk, Heimberg, & Magee, 2008). This study adopted a novel approach to studying social anxiety by evaluating a theoretical argument that theory of mind abilities may reduce social anxiety (Gilbert & Trower, 2001). Also known as perspective taking or mind reading, theory of mind refers to an ability to understand one’s own, and others’, mental processes (Taylor, 2005). This study examined the relationship between social anxiety, measured using the Social Anxiety Scale – Adolescents (La Greca, 1999) and two theoretically distinct kinds of theory of mind ability – capacity to identify or predict others’ perspectives (“theory of mind capacity”, measured using an Embedded False Belief test (Rutherford, 2004) and the Revised Mind in the Eyes Test (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001)), and application of theory of mind skills in communicative tasks (“theory of mind application” measured using an E-drawing task (Galinsky, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001) and two novel tasks). Given the frequent diagnosis of clinically-significant social anxiety in adolescence and the inhibiting role social anxiety can play in critical teenage developmental tasks (Hudson, Lyneham, & Rapee, 2008), this study considered a sample of 170 teenage university students. A complex pattern of relationships between social anxiety and theory of mind was found. Amongst female teenagers, social anxiety overall was unaffected by theory of mind skills. However, female teenagers with greater theory of mind skills tended to experience more social anxiety in relation to strangers and new social situations than female teenagers with lesser theory of mind skills. By comparison, male teenagers with greater theory of mind skills appeared to experience less social anxiety than male teenagers with lesser theory of mind skills. However, higher social anxiety and greater fear of negative evaluation were associated with more applied perspective taking amongst male teenagers. This study was also designed to explore an intriguing inconsistency in existing theory of mind research – whereas in young children, a modest, positive relationship between theory of mind abilities and peer acceptance has been found (e.g., Slaughter, Dennis, & Pritchard, 2002), two studies of theory of mind abilities in young adults have found that young adults with higher social status or power demonstrate lower theory of mind abilities (Galinsky, et al., 2006; Rutherford, 2004). This study attempted to reconcile these differing results, considering the relationships between theory of mind capacity and theory of mind application and social acceptance (measured by the Social Acceptance sub-scale of the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1988) and by numbers of friends on the social networking site, Facebook). No relationship was found between self-reported social acceptance and theory of mind skills. Higher numbers of Facebook friends were associated with lower theory of mind skills in female participants, but with higher theory of mind skills in male participants. Finally, this study examined the relationship between social anxiety and social acceptance, finding that higher social anxiety was associated both with lower self-reported social acceptance and lower numbers of Facebook friends. While subject to a number of limitations, these results indicate the utility of further research in this area, which may ultimately assist in refining effective treatments for clinical social anxiety. 2010-12-08T00:00:00Z Mrs Eve Klopper http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:184737 Providing care for an adult with a mental illness is associated with a range of detrimental consequences for the carer, including psychological and physical difficulties. Research has demonstrated that the availability, quality and level of professional support provided to mental health carers has the ability to influence the level of caregiving burden they experience. Respite care services are one of the most frequently reported needs of mental health carers, however there is little existing research to support the use and effectiveness of respite care in the mental health field. Hence, this dissertation is comprised of three studies that examine the perceptions, needs, benefits and effectiveness of respite care services for carers of individuals with a mental illness. A total of 106 mental health carers recruited through two carer support organisations completed postal questionnaires comprising of open-ended questions and measures of demographics, caregiving context and carer adjustment variables. Just over a third of the participants had accessed respite care at some point in their caregiving role. This sample was used for both Study 1 and Study 2, and the comparison group for Study 3 was selected from the subsample of carers who had not accessed respite care. Study 1 examined informal mental health carers’ perceptions of respite care. Participants were 106 carers caring for an adult with a mental illness recruited through carer support organisations. Carers provided written responses to open-ended questions covering four areas: barriers, positive and negative aspects, and improvements associated with respite care. A total of 36% had accessed respite care and 64% had never accessed respite care. The most frequently reported respite themes for both users and non-users in each of the four areas relevant to carers and care recipients were: barriers - care-recipient’s reluctance to use respite (e.g., refusal, psychiatric symptoms hamper access, denial of mental disorder); carer positives – caregiving relief (e.g., opportunity to relax, break from caregiving role); care recipient positives – socialising and participation in activities; carer negatives - problematic characteristics of the service (e.g., irregular or inflexible services, staffing problems); care recipient negatives - lack of suitable activities; carer improvements – increased access and availability of services; care recipient improvements - greater support and understanding of mental health issues. Findings indicate that respite care services should be tailored to the demands of mental health caregiving, providing flexibility in options across factors such as frequency, duration, location, transport access, support levels, staff training, activities and routines, graduated entry, type of respite care (e.g., in-home, hospital, drop-in centre), and crisis/acute respite. The purpose of Study 2 was to investigate the rate, type and duration of respite care use amongst carers of individuals with a mental illness and the differences between carers who accessed respite care and those who did not use this service on demographic, caregiving context and carer adjustment variables. Of the 106 carer participants, the majority (76%) who had accessed care used it weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The most common types of respite services were in-home, day programs, and residential respite. The mean duration of respite care was 58.18 hours. Compared to respite care non-users, carers who accessed respite care reported more benefits associated with their caregiving, and were more likely to live with their care recipient and provide more assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and psychosocial caring. Findings suggest that respite care services need to be varied, available for carers on a weekly to monthly basis with a range in duration, but catering for higher use of two day respite care periods. Carers who are highly engaged in a range of caregiving tasks and who live with their care recipient are more likely to have a greater need for respite care. Due to the lack of empirical evidence from effectiveness studies to support the use of respite care with carers of people with a mental illness, Study 3 evaluated the effectiveness of respite care in reducing caregiving burden, distress and improving life satisfaction and physical health for mental health carers. Ten informal carers recruited via two respite centres completed questionnaires measuring carer adjustment variables prior to accessing respite care, following the respite care period and at a three month follow up. These outcome measures were compared to a control group of 10 carers, matched on demographic variables, who had not accessed respite care. Compared to respite care non-users, carers who accessed respite care demonstrated a reduction in objective burden and an increase in stress following respite care use. Findings suggest that respite care use is associated with a decrease in carer burden, a noteworthy finding given the detrimental outcomes associated with increased burden. However, respite care use was also associated with increased stress. Reasons for this finding include barriers to accessing respite care and the use of respite care as a last resort. Respite care services must be flexible to enable carers to access support when they are experiencing the greatest difficulties associated with their caregiving role. This dissertation has demonstrated that respite care is effective in reducing carer burden, an important finding given that carers who access respite care are more heavily involved in their caregiving role. Stress has also been shown to increase following respite care use, however this is likely to be a result of the negative aspects of respite care identified by carers. Carers identify that respite care is not provided flexibly to cater for the episodic nature of mental illness, and much of the respite care provided is not designed for the unique needs and wants of adults with mental illnesses. Despite the shortcomings, carers continue to perceive respite care as beneficial and essential to the maintenance of their caregiving role. 2009-10-10T00:00:00Z Ms Claudia Jardim http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:287206 2012-12-13T16:18:39Z Thornhill, Jaime http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:224740 This study investigated the effectiveness of a CBT based parent only intervention in treating childhood anxiety. Additionally, the parenting styles: over-controlling parenting, rejecting parenting and anxious rearing, were explored as potential mediators of change seen in child anxiety symptomatology in the parenting program. Thirty children aged between 7 to 13 years who met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, were randomly allocated to a treatment or a waitlist control condition. Families were assessed at intake and post-assessment, and treatment families completed a further follow-up at 3 months. A variety of measures were used, including a diagnostic interview and questionnaires assessing child and parent functioning. After the 6 week parenting intervention, children significantly improved on measures of anxiety and internalizing symptoms (both self- and parent report), while no significant changes in anxiety were observed for children after a 6 week waitlist period. A similar pattern of results were found for depressive and externalizing symptoms, although these effects did not reach significance. Importantly, at post assessment, 46.3% of children in the treatment group were free of all anxiety diagnoses, compared to no control children. Further, 66.7% of treatment children were free of their pre-treatment primary diagnosis, compared to only 6.7% of control children. Three months after the intervention, results indicated children either maintained post treatment effects, or improved on measures of anxiety and depression. At follow-up, remission rates had increased for children in the treatment group; 78.6% of children were free of all anxiety diagnoses and 85.7% were free of their pre-treatment primary diagnosis. No significant changes were found over time, on the internalizing and externalizing symptoms of children in the treatment condition. This was hypothesized to have been due to a lack of power. Results on parenting revealed no change in parenting styles from intake to post assessment in the treatment or control group, and no mediation of parenting was observed. Unexpectedly, findings revealed positive associations between parenting styles and some measures of anxiety. The interpretation and potential clinical implications of the findings are discussed, together with suggestions for future research. 2010-12-15T00:00:00Z Miss Jaya Valvoi http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:300457 The Oncology Screening Tool (OST) was developed to assist clinicians in being able to recognise patients who needed support whilst undergoing chemotherapy. The OST was developed due to the lack of multidisciplinary and multi-dimensional items, and other limitations found in existing screening tools. The team at the Mater Adult Hospital Oncology Department developed the OST by short listing from a large item pool that was created from literature reviews and consultations with other clinicians and patients. A list of problems and situations were identified that are generally experienced by patients during the course of chemotherapy. Patients are asked to rate the severity of each symptoms/ problems and how much it bothers them. Clinicians use the OST to identify and prioritise patients who need support based on patients’ responses on the OST. Interventions and services are then able to be provided to ensure that patients remain well-supported throughout their chemotherapy. The overall aim of this paper was to evaluate the OST. This was done by conducting two studies, which involved 47 males (Mage = 63.3 years, SDage = 10.45) and 154 females (Mage = 55.5 years, SDage = 11.36). The first study examined how the OST measured against the eight criteria deemed by other researchers as important aspects of an effective screening tool. The OST was deemed: 1) to include patients’ needs from a cancer-related multidimensional aspect, 2) to assess patients’ subjective needs, 3) patient friendly, 4) system friendly, 5) to have referral guidelines in place to link support services to risk factors, and 6) to assess needs for clinical purposes. One criterion, which was related to symptoms being defined within a certain period, needs to be examined and modified in future revision of the OST. The other remaining criterion, that is, reliability and validity of the OST produced mixed results as it demonstrated high levels of internal consistency/reliability in five out of seven domains, good face and content validity, known-groups validity in patients receiving chemotherapy with a curative intent versus metastatic/palliative intent, and identified patients with head and neck cancer in the speech and language pathology domain. Sensitivity to change and other validity measures were not able to be examined adequately due to certain limitations. The second study examined gender-differences in self-reporting behaviours on the OST. An exploratory study was conducted and gender differences were found in certain symptoms and domains on the OST. Furthermore, clinicians were asked after having assessed a patient, to rate, if the patients’ responses on the items on the OST were different or consistent to responses on the same items when they were assessed during a clinician-conducted assessment. The majority of females were found to report consistently on both the OST and during the clinicians’ assessment. However, more males were found to report differently on the OST and during the clinicians’ assessment than their female counterparts. Due to the small and unequal sample size groups, lack of a control group, and other psychometric issues, results generated needed to be interpreted with caution. However, clinical implications of the results obtained from the two studies were discussed and is believed that it will add to the limited and inconclusive body of literature. Strengths and limitations identified from the present study offer clinicians future directions when modifying the OST to enable its full potential as an effective screening tool to accurately identify patients’ needs and offer appropriate holistic supports and services. 2013-05-21T14:51:23Z Amy Chiu http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158879 2008-10-28T00:00:00Z Carrie Rainbow http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:243169 Abstract Mindfulness meditation is rapidly growing as an efficacious technique in the field of Psychology and has been adapted into several well know psychological therapy models such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The present study involved an online mindfulness intervention targeting a worldwide community sample. 113 participants were recruited via the internet from a worldwide community sample to take part in this online mindfulness intervention study. Participants were primarily recruited from various online forums, interest groups, and group emails. Participants completed several pre-intervention measures and then they were requested to complete eight weeks of mindfulness practice. The mindfulness practice was delivered online where participants were given access to four guided meditations which were then self administered. These guided meditations were all commonly used components of the major mindfulness based therapies including MBSR, DBT, MBCT, and ACT. Participants were also provided written instruction pertaining to the methods of informal mindfulness practice. Researchers tracked the progress of participants each week over an eight-week period, and those participants who did not drop out of the study completed post intervention measures. There were five primary aims of the present study. Firstly, the study aimed to establish whether participants would initiate and maintain a mindfulness practice over an eight week period using online mindfulness resources, exploring characteristics such as proneness to boredom, psychological distress, mindfulness, reflection, and psychological wellbeing to determine if they predicted attrition. The study also explored some reasons as to why participants didn’t practice mindfulness meditation regularly. The second aim was to explore whether any benefits were gained after completing eight weeks of mindfulness meditation. Thirdly, the present study investigated whether mindfulness acted as a mechanism of change in the benefits gained. Fourthly the present research explored the dose and type (formal versus informal) of practice that participants were engaging in over the eight week period. The final aim of this study was to investigate whether the internet was perceived as a valuable tool to conduct a mindfulness intervention. As predicted, a significant proportion of people had dropped out of the study, and were assumed to be no longer practicing meditation, by the end of the eight week period, with only 21% remaining at the end of this time period. 31% of participants had ceased practice of meditation after the first week, with around 6-10% of participants dropping out each week. The only significant predictor of surviving the eight week study was having a higher level of mindfulness at the commencement of the study. Results of this study supported the notion that those participants who completed the eight week period of mindfulness would gain benefits and the study also gave some support for the notion that mindfulness acted as a mechanism of change in benefits that were gained. The study found that the optimal amount of mindfulness practice is around 10-20 minutes of formal meditation per day and 20 to 30 minutes of informal meditation practice per day. Although participants seemed to practice informal meditation more regularly than formal practice, there was no statistically significant difference between the two types of practice. The study also concluded that using the internet was a valuable means of performing a mindfulness intervention. The internet is a valuable means of providing information pertaining to the concept and practice of mindfulness, and can be disseminated to a large group of people in a cost-effective manner. Around half of the people who accessed this online resource took up the program, and of those people who finished the eight-week program, significant benefits were gained in the reduction of psychological distress and improvement in psychological well-being and mindfulness. Limitations of the study and implications for governments, researchers, and instructors of mindfulness meditation are discussed. 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z Mr Paul Bowden http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:270257 ABSTRACT Mental health problems are a major health issue in Australian communities. Research has identified that many of these problems, or the emotional and behavioural risk factors for these problems, develop during childhood. Although many factors are implicated in the development of psychopathology, research indicates that both intrinsic factors (e.g. child temperament and emotional reactivity) and extrinsic factors (e.g. parent characteristics, parenting practices and family environment) predict the likelihood of the development of child emotional and behavioural difficulties. Research has demonstrated that early interventions targeting parenting practices have resulted in reductions in child psychopathology symptoms. As such, parent engagement in the process of developing, or increasing functional and consistent parenting practices is considered of vital importance. Whilst, there are several well-researched parenting programs which may be suitable for use within well-resourced clinics, when families are experiencing adverse circumstances such as accommodation problems, threat of breakdown to foster placement, or early involvement with child protection agencies, often caregivers may be disinclined to commit to attendance at long duration programs. Therefore brief, easy-to-understand parenting interventions may serve an important purpose. It is essential to evaluate parenting programs to ensure an appropriate treatment response for this population, to reduce potential long term negative outcomes for children. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching group parenting intervention in a community setting. This brief three-session parenting program was designed to help parents of children, aged two to twelve years of age, better manage their children's emotional and behavioural difficulties in the context of parenting. Method: Forty-eight foster carers and forty-six biological parents participated in this study within a community support organisation that focuses on providing services to socially-disadvantaged children and families. Caregivers completed questionnaires assessing parent emotion socialisation practices (emotion coaching vs. emotion dismissing parenting style), parent emotional competence, parent psychosocial adjustment, childrearing attitudes that have the potential for child abuse and parent-reported child emotional and behavioural difficulties. Assessment data were collected at three time points, each nine weeks apart. The first two assessment points were prior to the start of the program (Waitlist and Pre-Intervention), and the third assessment point was at nine weeks following the commencement of program (Post-Intervention). All parents/foster carers (N = 98) participated in the three session intervention during the study period. Results: At post-intervention, both foster carers and biological parents reported significant improvements across all parent-reported child and adult outcomes. Conclusion: This study provides support for the effectiveness of the 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching parenting program, to assist caregivers to increase their emotion-coaching and decrease their emotion dismissing parenting behaviours, to improve the regulation of their own emotions, to develop more functional childrearing attitudes, to improve their psychosocial adjustment and to improve parent-reported child behaviours. Overall, parents reported that they were satisfied with the intervention. This study lays an effective foundation for future development and evaluation of this intervention. Limitations: All of the measures utilised in this study were parent-reported, and therefore future research would be enhanced through the gathering collateral assessments of parent and child behaviours and through the utilisation of observational methods of parent practices and child behaviours. Future research: To evaluate if the short-term post-intervention improvements are maintained across time, through implementation of longer-term follow-up assessments. Keywords: brief parenting intervention, emotion socialisation, emotional competence 2012-03-17T00:00:00Z Ms Pauline King http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:284860 Empathy is thought to be an important contributor to relationship satisfaction but has attracted limited research attention. The aim of the current research was to better understand how empathy relates to relationship satisfaction by exploring the direct effect of empathy on relationship satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of empathy on the association between negative communication and relationship satisfaction. The research involved two cohorts of couples: 2010 cohort (n = 101) and 2011 cohort (n = 52). The results provided partial support for a direct association between empathy and relationship satisfaction. In the 2010 cohort high partner empathy predicted high relationship satisfaction for men and women but this was not replicated in the 2011 cohort. Partial support was also found for empathy predicting relationship satisfaction once negative communication had been accounted for. In the 2010 cohort high partner empathy predicted high relationship satisfaction for men and women after negative communication had been entered into the equation but this finding was not replicated in the 2011 cohort. Support was not found for empathy moderating the association of high negative communication on relationship satisfaction in either the 2010 cohort or the 2011 cohort. These findings suggest that empathy between spouses has the potential to be an important component of relationship interventions however, clearer insight into the role of empathy in relationships is needed. 2012-11-14T15:20:35Z Danielle Mccarthy http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:267277 Background: Cerebral Palsy is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition that is well-recognised as the leading cause of childhood physical disability in Australia and worldwide (Stanley, Blair, & Alberman, 2000). It is caused by non-progressive damage to the foetal or infant brain that results in motor and postural difficulties (Rosenbaum, Paneth, Leviton, Coldsteinm, & Bax, 2007). In addition to movement impairments, children with cerebral palsy can also experience cognitive and psychological difficulties (Goodman & Yude, 2000; Straub & Obrzut, 2009). This dissertation focuses on children and adolescents with a unilateral distribution of motor impairments and includes children with both left and right-sided congenital hemiplegia. Early injury to the brain can cause deficits in higher-order cognitive tasks, such as executive functions (Long et al., 2011). Executive dysfunction can derail normal development by disrupting the child’s ability to effectively interact with their environment and acquire new skills. Given that early brain injury can result in executive function difficulties and the fact that by definition, children with congenital hemiplegia have sustained injury to the developing foetal or infant brain, it is surprising that there is a lack of research examining executive abilities in this population. Study Aims: The primary aim of the current study was to investigate executive function in children and adolescents with congenital hemiplegia. A further aim was to ascertain whether children and adolescents with left congenital hemiplegia and right congenital hemiplegia exhibit the same executive function profile. The relationship between executive abilities and psychological functioning was also explored. Method: A total of 46 children with congenital hemiplegia and 20 typically developing children, who served as a control group, were recruited (N = 66). Executive function was operationalised according to P. Anderson’s (2002) developmental model of executive function that incorporates four components: attentional control; cognitive flexibility; goal setting; and information processing. Nine neuropsychological assessments were chosen to assess these components of executive function based on previous research (e.g., V. Anderson, Spencer-Smith, et al., 2010). A brief measure of intellectual functioning was also administered. Questionnaire data was collected from the child’s parents and schoolteacher on the behavioural manifestations of executive function in everyday life, as measured by the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) and on emotional, behavioural, and social functioning, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997, 1999). Results: Children with congenital hemiplegia showed a significantly lower overall IQ score and more executive function difficulties than controls. There was no difference between children with left and right congenital hemiplegia on any of the IQ or executive function measures, with the exception of Inhibition/Switching total errors. On both the parent and teacher-rated versions of the BRIEF questionnaire, children with congenital hemiplegia showed significantly more difficulties across all scales. Similarly, on the SDQ questionnaire, children with congenital hemiplegia demonstrated significantly more difficulties on all scales, with the exception of the Prosocial Behaviour scale. On both the BRIEF and SDQ, there was no difference between children with left and right congenital hemiplegia. Finally, among children with congenital hemiplegia, those with higher (i.e., better) levels of executive function scored significantly lower on the majority of problem scales from the BRIEF and SDQ, with the exception of the Emotional Symptoms and Peer Problem scales from the SDQ. Conclusions: This study showed that children and adolescents with congenital hemiplegia experience difficulties across multiple executive function domains. Also, a higher level of executive function was associated with fewer psychological difficulties among children and adolescents with congenital hemiplegia. Theoretical and clinical implications of the results are discussed and directions for future research are recommended. 2012-02-08T00:00:00Z Miss Harriet Bodimeade http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:159063 2008-11-05T00:00:00Z Ms Monica Moran http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:205730 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder of childhood affecting up to 6% of children. Increased distractibility and difficulty sustaining attention are diagnostic for ADHD, yet an objective attention deficit has been hard to isolate. An intriguing aspect of the attention deficit of children with ADHD is a subtle inattention to left space, which resembles that seen in right-hemisphere patients with the ‘neglect’ syndrome. This thesis further explores this phenomenon in ADHD using tasks that have been validated on neglect patients. It has been observed in neglect patients that awareness of left hemi-field stimuli is poorer under a cognitive load. What is currently not known is whether this phenomenon of left-neglect in ADHD also runs in families. Since siblings share 50% of their genes in common, one way to approach this problem is to compare ADHD probands with unaffected siblings and non-ADHD controls. If left-neglect in ADHD has its basis in genetics, then a sub-threshold form of this phenomenon might also be present in related but unaffected individuals, compared to controls. Study1- In the current study 11 children ADHD, 10 non-affected siblings and 14 controls performed a variant of the standard flanker task, in which perceptual load (low-load and high-load), congruency (congruent, incongruent) and position of targets (centre, left and right) were varied independently. Specifically, participants were asked to respond to the target presented along a central horizontal row and ignore any flankers that appeared above or below the target. In the low load condition, the target appeared by itself in the centre, left or right position. In the high load condition, the target appeared among five non-target, uppercase letters (S,K,V,J,R), which were randomly placed in each of the five remaining locations. In each condition the target and flanker could be congruent (i.e. both x) or incongruent (i.e. target x and flanker z). In support of previous research, control children demonstrated a larger incongruency effect for left targets then children with ADHD under low perceptual load. This effect is consistent with the phenomenon of pseudo-neglect in non-clinical participants, in which there is subtle directing of attention to left space. Although children with ADHD tended to show greater incongruency effects for right targets under low perceptual load than controls it was not significant in this relatively small sample. In a matched samples analysis of controls, ADHD and siblings, ADHD children tended to be slowest overall for left targets followed by centre and then right positions. Siblings had similar reaction times to left and right targets but slowest for middle, whilst there was no difference in response times for controls. Study 2-Previous research in right hemisphere patients has found that when participants are required to monitor a central Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) stream for a nominated stimulus, they are slower to detect concurrent peripheral targets in the left, but not right hemi-field. Eleven children with ADHD, 10 siblings and 14 non-clinical children were asked to detect briefly presented peripheral stimuli (left and right locations). The children were concurrently required to monitor a centrally presented RSVP stream for a nominated probe that occurred under three load conditions: no-load, low-load and high-load. In the RSVP task participants were required to make a non-speeded judgment of probe presence vs. absence, whereas they made a speeded response upon detection of peripheral targets. An interaction between group, load and target location was predicted with ADHD children being slower than non-clinical children to detect targets presented in the left hemi-field under the high-load RSVP condition. Although load robustly slowed reaction times to peripheral targets more in ADHD than non-ADHD children, this effect did not differ as a function of peripheral target side. This thesis found mixed support for the notion of impaired spatial selective attention for left events in ADHD and unaffected siblings. Possible reasons for this non-replication of past work are discussed. 2010-06-01T00:00:00Z Miss Sarah Pollock http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:223082 Family members or friends caring for a loved one with a serious mental illness are known as mental health carers. There are approximately 110,000 Australian mental health carers (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004), all of whom play an important and necessary role in supporting their care recipient and in easing the burden of care on society at large. This demanding role has been shown to have a detrimental impact on carer wellbeing, including increased psychological distress and physical health problems and decreased life satisfaction. The research programme investigated the utility of a stress and coping model of adaptation to mental health caregiving derived from Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) stress and coping theory in predicting adjustment in Australian mental health carers over two time points. Study 1 applied the model to 114 Australian mental health carers recruited through carer support agencies and two local hospitals using a questionnaire. This cross-sectional study tested the relationships between positive (positive affect, life satisfaction, benefit finding and physical health) and negative (psychological distress) adjustment outcomes and stress and coping predictors (coping resources, cognitive appraisal and coping strategies). As hypothesised, hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that after controlling for the effects of relevant background variables, better caregiver adjustment was related to higher satisfaction with social support and optimism, better carer-care recipient relationship quality, lower threat and higher challenge appraisals, and less reliance on avoidance coping strategies. In the main, the model was supported by the cross-sectional data. Study 2 investigated the relationships between the abovementioned stress and coping predictors and adjustment variables over a one year period using a follow-up questionnaire survey, generated descriptive data regarding the adjustment outcomes, and assessed change in adjustment variables over a one year interval. Of the 107 participants eligible for inclusion in Study 2, 87 returned completed follow-up questionnaire packages. This constituted a high response rate of 81.31%. When controlling for time one adjustment and relevant background variables in hierarchical multiple regression analyses, better adjustment at time two was predicted by higher optimism, challenge appraisals and use of meaning-making coping strategies and lower use of avoidance and acceptance coping strategies at time one. The strongest and most consistent predictor of better adjustment was higher optimism. When controlling for time one adjustment, threat appraisals, control appraisals and both external coping resources (satisfaction with social support and carer-care recipient relationship quality) failed to emerge as predictors of adjustment at the multivariate level. Descriptive data revealed that participants reported significantly lower positive affect and life satisfaction than carer and non-carer comparison samples, and a high proportion of participants reported severe and extremely severe depression (approximately 20%), anxiety (approximately 17%) and stress (approximately 20%). Adjustment outcomes were stable over the one year period with the exception of stress, which reduced between time one and time two. These results demonstrate the stable detrimental effects of the mental health caregiving role and underscore the need to provide services to support mental health carers. Overall, the results support the stress and coping model of adaptation to mental health caregiving, showing that internal coping resources, primary appraisal and coping strategies were the strongest predictors of adjustment over time when controlling for T1 adjustment and relevant background variables, with weak support for external coping resources and threat appraisal. Secondary appraisal’s inclusion in the model was not supported by the results of either study. The research programme identified a number of background risk factors for poorer adjustment in mental health carers, as well as modifiable targets for psychological intervention in promoting better adjustment in mental health carers. Practice recommendations include provision of cognitive behavioural interventions to mental health carers targeting modifiable factors identified by the research, and greater consideration of the needs of mental health carers by service providers. 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z Ms Christina Mackay http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:262173 Abstract. Objective: The aims of the present research were threefold. Firstly, to investigate the relationship between the early care-giving experiences of children known to have been physically abused and neglected and their social, emotional and behavioural functioning; secondly, to investigate the psychological functioning of relative and non-relative carers and the children in their care; and thirdly, to assess the impact of carer attachment style on child outcomes. Method: The study involved a prospective between groups repeated measures design to investigate the differences in the functioning of children in foster and relative care; differences in the characteristics of foster and relative carers themselves; and the role of carer attachment style on the outcomes of children in out of home care. Data collection was conducted at time one (baseline) and time two (approximately 12 months). Initial measures were obtained from the children’s case files and standardised self-report measures were administered to the children’s carers at baseline and time two. There were a total of 139 parent-child dyads in the study comprised of 72 non-relative foster carers and 67 relative foster carers. Of these carers, 81 (47 non-relative and 34 relative carers) participated in the follow-up assessment at 12 months. The mean age of the non-relative carers was 47.7 years (SD = 9.16 years) and relative carers 56.0 years (SD = 8.47 years). A total of 184 children were included in the study (as some carers were caring for more than one foster child) with an age range from 4.12 years to 13.58 years (M = 7.77 years, SD = 3.33 years) with 97 females (52.7%) and 86 males (46.7%). Results: Children with a history of physical abuse were found to have more externalising problems than children who had not been physically abused, however contrary to expectations, children with a history of neglect were not found to have more internalising problems than those with no history of neglect. For the second aim, significant differences were found to exist in the behavioural, emotional and social functioning of children living in relative care compared to those living in non-relative care with children living with relative carers found to be functioning better than those living with non-relative carers. Non-relative foster carers were found to report greater difficulties than relative caregivers in their caring role. For the final aim, contrary to expectations, attachment style was found to not be a predictor of how children fared in their placement. Conclusion: The results of this research has implications for the recruitment, training, screening and support of foster carers and contribute to the understanding of the processes involved in the social and emotional adjustment of children in foster care. Further research is required to increase our understanding and awareness of the individual characteristics that define good quality foster carers, and the effects these characteristics have on the psychosocial functioning of foster children in their care. Improving the developmental outcomes of children in care will hopefully help to reduce the intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect and thus promote the mental health of the nation. 2011-11-25T00:00:00Z Melissa Russell http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:170224 ABSTRACT The literature indicates that teachers need to have an adequate knowledge of language learning strategies in order to appropriately teach them. Teachers who have a clear understanding of language learning strategies are likely to integrate them to their language classes. Hence the teachers’ knowledge about language learning strategies is crucial for the language learning and teaching processes and should not be neglected by the teachers. However, there is a lack of research on teachers’ knowledge of language learning strategies, especially at the tertiary level. The focus of this study, therefore, is to closely examine English lecturers’ knowledge about and application of language learning strategies used in their teaching, and as a consequence to consider the need to develop those strategies through a professional development plan. To do this, a plan was developed for Udon Thani Rajabhat University to provide staff with professional development related to language learning strategies that would be appropriate to their local circumstances. Case study method was selected for the current study to investigate the knowledge, application and needs of a unique and specific group of people, English lecturers, and in the particular context, the teaching of English at the tertiary level at a Thai university. Seventeen EFL lecturers, 251 English major students, and the Vice President of the Academic Affairs Office participated in this study. Data were collected from the lecturers and students through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, while university policies were also collected for use with document analysis. The questionnaire was adapted from Oxford’s (1990) the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0 (EFL/ESL). The semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine EFL lecturers, 12 English major students, and the Vice President of the Academic Affairs. The data collected from documents which related to the university policies from Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and English program were analysed and combined into categories. The findings from the first phase of the study indicated that English lecturers knew about language learning strategies and reported being able to apply some of them in their teaching. However, they reported that they still needed professional development related to metacognitive strategies. Hence, a professional development plan was created to assist English lecturers to build knowledge about these language learning strategies. The professional development model used in the plan emerged from the research findings and literature, and draws on frameworks and activities from Communities of Practice and Peer Mentoring implementation models. The specific professional development activities needed to develop language learning strategies competence were designed to be undertaken over a seven-week period in a single semester. This study illustrates that a focused professional development program can be designed to meet the specific needs of academic staff members to improve skills critical to teachers in training. This model may also be useful for researchers in similar contexts in the tertiary sector. 2009-03-17T00:00:00Z Ms Sujittra Intharatsamee http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:290189 The number of grandparents assuming the primary caretaker role for their grandchildren in Western industrialised countries has rapidly increased in recent times. Despite the increasing prevalence rate of grandparent-headed households in Australia, little is known about the characteristics and experiences of these families. Custodial grandparents face a number of stressors as a result of raising their grandchildren. These stressors have negative implications for grandparents’ mental health. Many children being raised by grandparents have encountered a number of negative life events prior to residing with their grandparents. These adverse experiences place grandchildren at a greater risk for social, emotional, and behavioural problems. A caregiver’s level of commitment to their relationship with a child has important implications on the caregiver’s experience as a carer as well as child developmental outcomes. There has been extensive research on the impact of caregiver commitment in the area of foster care families. However, there is a gap in the literature in relation to commitment amongst grandparents raising grandchildren. There are two main research aims for the present research: 1) develop a coding system to measure commitment amongst grandparent caregivers, and 2) examine the relationship between grandparent commitment, grandparent mental health, and the social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties among grandchildren. The following thesis, which is comprised of two studies, used archival data to examine the research aims. Study One involved the development of the Grandparent Commitment Coding System, which was adapted from a measure of commitment commonly used in the foster care literature. Qualitative responses from 183 grandparent caregivers were scored by two independent raters using the Grandparent Commitment Coding System. The scale was found to have good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .77. Study Two examined the relationships between grandparent commitment, grandparent mental health, and child social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties. It was hypothesised that grandparent commitment would moderate the relationship between grandparent psychological distress and child difficulties. It was also hypothesised that high social support and low life stressors would mediate the impact that grandparent’ psychological distress has on child difficulties. The study sample consisted of the same 183 participants from Study One. Self-report measures were administered to obtain information on the mental health of grandparents, perceived social support for grandparents, major life stressors, and child adjustment. Grandparent commitment scores obtained from Study One were used in Study Two. As predicted, results indicated a significant positive relationship between grandparent psychological distress and child difficulties. Grandparent psychological distress was also significantly associated with grandparent commitment. Contrary to expectations, grandparent commitment did not appear to moderate the impact of grandparent psychological distress on child outcomes. High social support and low life stressors were not found to mediate the impact that grandparent’ psychological distress has on child outcomes. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are highlighted. 2013-01-29T18:14:24Z Kwan, Amy http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:224645 Existing literature has conclusively shown that group cognitive behavioural therapy (GCBT) is effective and efficacious for a variety of mental health disorders and physical health issues. With such overwhelming support, the question is no longer whether GCBT works, but what makes it works. Increasingly, experimental attention is now centred on understanding the mechanisms underlying these positive treatment outcomes. One possible mechanism of change is that of group processes. Relatively little attention has been given to the unique properties of the group format, as important vehicles for treatment process and outcomes. Clinical studies which have examined group processes typically focus on the notion of cohesion. This thesis seeks to address the existing gaps in the group psychotherapy literature by investigating the role of group process variables in influencing therapeutic outcomes, and in particular, GCBT. This was achieved through extending investigation beyond cohesion to include other potentially important group process variables, validating group process instruments in clinical samples, incorporating a wide range of treatment outcome measures (specifically using symptomology measures, quality of life and global functioning measures, and self- and clinician-rated measures) and making comparisons across two diagnostic groups (mood disordered patients and anxiety disordered patients) in a real-life clinical group setting. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the current evidence for GCBT and in particular, the efficacy of GCBT in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. It then discussed the concept of mechanisms of change in psychotherapy by differentiating between specific factors and non-specific factors. Group process factors, as a non-specific factor, were highlighted as a relatively under-researched but essential component in understanding the contributing components of therapeutic gains. “Cohesion” had been the main construct of investigation by group processes researchers. However, in recent years, investigators have cautioned the unequivocal importance placed on cohesion, citing difficulties in reaching a theoretical agreement of the construct, measurements and conflicting evidence of its proposed benefits on clinical outcomes. As such, a case for considering other less examined but potentially important group process factors for group psychotherapy was put forth. These factors, specifically Expressiveness, Independence, Autonomy, Task interdependence and Homogeneity, were selected after consulting other branches of psychology (e.g. social psychology) which have more established knowledge about small group phenomena. Because of their potential significance in effecting benefits in group psychotherapy, investigation into the role of these group processes factors is proposed. Chapter 2 comprised of a study with two parts, focusing on the constructs of cohesion, expressiveness and independence. The study examined the psychometric properties of three group processes scales (i.e. Feelings about the Group Scale and Gross-Yalom and Rand Cohesion Questionnaire in the first part of the study and three subscales of the Group Environment Scale in the second part of the study). Exploratory factor analyses with these three measures demonstrated moderately consistent factor structures with the original measures but with revised item loadings for the current sample. Internal consistencies for the total scales and the factor scales of the three measures varied. Effectiveness of the group programme was evidenced by significant positive changes in treatment outcome measures and effect sizes of small to medium were obtained across most measures. Further analyses using bivariate correlations and multiple regressions were conducted to investigate the relationships between group process factors and treatment outcomes for patients who completed the GCBT. Collectively, results suggested that cohesion may be more important in GCBT for depression while expressiveness may be more significant for GCBT for anxiety. In addition, group processes seem to exert their influence differentially across the two clinical groups. Independence seemed to be related to negative outcomes for the Anxiety group. Findings were discussed within the context of psychometric issues, differences between diagnostic groups, clinical implications and research limitations. Chapter 3 investigated the role of other less investigated group process factors (i.e. Autonomy, Task Interdependence, Expressiveness and Homogeneity) in predicting treatment outcomes. As there was no established group process scale which measured these variables of interest within a clinical population, a new scale was first developed and validated in the current study. As expected, four factors, representing the four group process variables were obtained in the exploratory factor analyses. A similar set of analyses, as that performed in Chapter 2, was carried out. Results suggested that Autonomy played the most important role in contributing to clinical outcomes while Task Interdependence, Expressiveness and Homogeneity appeared to exert limited significant influence. In addition, differential effects of group processes were found for the two diagnostic groups. Theoretical, research and clinical implications were discussed. The final chapter sought to consolidate the findings of the two studies conducted. Complexity of the findings was highlighted. Theoretical, research and clinical implications, as well as limitations and directions for future research, were also discussed. 2010-12-14T00:00:00Z Ms Eng Mae Chong http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:218024 The current project was designed to investigate hazard perception ability in older drivers. Two studies were run. The first study aimed to explore the relationships between hazard perception ability and performance on a range of neuropsychological tests including measures of processing speed, working memory and aspects of executive functioning including inhibition, mental flexibility, planning and problem solving. The results did not yield significant correlations between hazard perception response times and performance on neuropsychological measures. The second study aimed to investigate the long term effect of hazard perception training in older drivers, whether such effects were enhanced by an additional training session, and whether the initial effects of training found in previous research generalised to an enhanced training package. In addition to video-based, verbal commentary exercises, the training package used in the present study also included an instructional video and exercises that involved participants predicting what could happen next in a set of video-based traffic scenarios. The results showed significantly faster hazard perception response times immediately after training compared to no training. This pattern of results was evident at one month follow ups although was no longer significant. The additional hazard perception training session did not have a beneficial effect on hazard perception response times with no significant differences between the groups at three month follow ups. The results are discussed with regard to the neuropsychological assessment of driving related abilities and the utility of hazard perception training for older adults. Suggestions for future research include extensions of the current study to maintain the effects of hazard perception training over time and translate faster test response times to real-world driving behaviour. 2010-10-07T00:00:00Z Miss Emmaline Falconer