Reports and Findings
There is an urgent need for scalable interventions to promote physical activity in early childhood. An early childhood education and care physical activity policy intervention with implementation support strategies (Play Active) has been proposed for scale-up in Australia.
Alexithymia—a trait characterized by difficulties in emotion processing—is of high interest in the autism field. However, the lack of validated alexithymia measures for autistic individuals limits progress. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) across autistic and non-autistic samples. Using the PAQ, we investigated how alexithymia manifests in autistic individuals and its links with poor mental health outcomes (anxiety).
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been thought to increase the risk of respiratory depression from opioids. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether preoperative hypoxaemia by sleep study pulse oximetry imparts greater opioid sensitivity.
This project addresses the growing issue of technology-facilitated abuse against women and girls, particularly in regional Western Australian communities where risks are heightened, and access to support is limited.
Sports gambling has become increasingly normalised among young people, with the proliferation of sponsorship deals and a 300% rise in the number of gambling advertisements in the past 7 years.
Fathers play a critical role in children’s development, yet remain under-represented in research and associated policy outcomes, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of the role and long-term impact of father involvement.
Through a partnership with PLS, this research will aim to understand the impact of FIFO work arrangements on the mental health and wellbeing of the whole FIFO family.
Autistic children experience significantly higher rates of anxiety compared to nonautistic children. The precise relations between autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms remain unclear in this population. Previous work has explored associations at the domain level, which involve examining broad categories or clusters of symptoms, rather than the relationships between specific symptoms and/or individual characteristics. We addressed this gap by taking a network approach to understand the shared structure of autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms.
Human milk bacteria contribute to gut microbiome establishment in breastfed infants. Although breastfeeding is recommended throughout infancy, temporal variation in the milk microbiome-particularly beyond solid food introduction-remains understudied. We analyzed 539 milk samples from 83 mother-infant dyads between 1 week and 12 months postpartum using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Perceived stigma and self-stigma negatively affect identity-related, psychological and functional outcomes among stigmatised populations. There is limited research exploring the impact of stigma among young people at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. We investigated the association of perceived stigma and self-stigma with these outcomes in young people at UHR.