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An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parenting program

The aim of this project is to develop and implement a culturally safe, responsive and trauma-informed parenting program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

Co-designing a trauma-informed program for parents whose infant has had a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission

Having a newborn child admitted into a NICU can be highly traumatic for parents. The compounding effects of the NICU clinical environment, having a seriously ill child, in addition to the inability to care or adequately bond with your child can be extremely distressing.

Tanika Sgherza

Senior Research Officer Tanika Sgherza is on the Healing Kids, Healing Families team.

“Stop, pause and take a break”: a mixed methods study of the longer-term outcomes of digital emotional wellbeing training for perinatal women

Maternal psychological distress is related to poorer physical and mental health as well as child developmental problems. Interventions that optimise maternal mental health and wellbeing during the "first 1,000 days" of life should have wide-reaching benefits for the mother and her child.

Age-related differences in trust beliefs during middle childhood: Downward-extension and validation of the general trust scale

There are conflicting suggestions concerning the developmental trend of trust beliefs during middle childhood. Across three studies, the current research developed a brief measure of child general trust beliefs, as well as child measures of trust in peers and online, and examined age-related differences in these beliefs. 

Parents’ Disclosure of Their Child’s Health and Neurodevelopmental Conditions: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Metasynthesis

Parents of children with physical/mental health and/or neurodevelopmental conditions often need to make disclosure decisions for their child. Disclosure can bring benefits (e.g., support) but can also risk harm (e.g., stigma). This systematic review aimed to consolidate research regarding parents' disclosure experiences to better understand how to support parents during this process.

The parent empowerment scale: development and psychometric properties

Parents of trans and gender diverse (herein ‘trans’) children experience additional challenges in their parenting role relative to parents of cisgender children. Understanding and enhancing parents’ empowerment is a promising approach to support both parents and children. We aimed to develop an empowerment scale specific to parents of trans children, grounded in parents’ lived experiences. 

Palliative care for people with substance use disorders: a qualitative study of the experiences of rural primary care providers

In Australia, substance use disorders disproportionately affect people living in rural and remote areas. Patients with substance use disorders who receive palliative care have complex, often unmet, end-of-life needs. There is scarce evidence on the management of patients with substance use disorders in palliative care, and there is no consensus on the model of care to assist general practitioners manage their patients. This is particularly salient for general practitioners in rural areas, who provide most of the palliative care to their patients.

Pre-service teachers’ experiences with students impacted by trauma in the school setting

Experiencing trauma may adversely impact a child’s education, and research in this field requires a deeper understanding about how those working in the education system, specifically pre-service teachers, can respond and support children impacted by trauma. Pre-service teachers, who are our future teachers, play a role in recognising and helping children when signs of trauma are revealed, but risk re-traumatising children if not adequately trained during their university education. 

A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties of General Trust Measures Across the Lifespan

Belief in the trustworthiness of other people is foundational to human interaction, and thus, there is interest in its assessment across many disciplines. However, disunity in approaches to its conceptualization has resulted in a myriad of measures. This review collates and systematically appraises self-report general trust measures for use in either children or adults; examining target age, type of trust assessed, and measurement and psychometric properties.