Research has linked prenatal alcohol and tobacco use with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and variably with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Lactational use has been scantly considered. This study examined whether it may alter ADHD or ASD risk. Participants were 5107 infants recruited in 2004 and assessed longitudinally for the…

Specific features of adult linguistic input may play a larger, or smaller role, at different child ages, across different language outcomes, in different cohorts. This prospective, longitudinal study explored associations between the quantity and quality (i.e. diversity and responsiveness) of maternal linguistic input and child language. This…

Research Findings: This study examined performance on self-regulatory tasks, in addition to individual characteristics including cognitive ability, receptive and expressive language skills, planning, and behaviour as contributing factors to early learning difficulties. Twenty-nine children born with ELBW and 30 comparison children at four years of…

Background: Early reading success is predicated on language and pre-literacy skills. Children who are behind their peers in language and pre-literacy development before formal schooling are less likely to be proficient beginner readers, and difficulties may persist throughout primary school and beyond. We know children experiencing adversity are…

Background: Parent-reported measures of early communication have limitations for use with infants experiencing adversity. Observational measures of early non-verbal and verbal communicative behaviours and mother-child turn-taking may provide a complementary method of capturing early communication skills for these children. Aims: To explore the…

Introduction: This systematic literature review aims to (a) identify how the parenting stress was used in the empirical studies as an independent, outcome, moderator and mediator variable, (b) identify the predictors of parenting stress in parents of children with ASD, (c) identify how parenting stress relates with mental health, and (d) make…

Book reading is one of the most important investments that parents make in their children's literacy development. This study investigated risk factors associated with the absence of book reading at ages 2, 4 and 6 years. A holistic view of the multiple ecologies of child development guided the study across a sample of approximately 4000 children…

Poor academic performance during childhood predicts later adverse outcomes, and could be targeted for improvement if detected early. This study used population-based record linkage to examine the association between early life risk factors and academic achievement at two different stages of development using two different cohorts: a kindergarten…

The influence of parental and early childhood factors on adolescent obesity was investigated using a longitudinal model of body mass index (BMI) from birth to 14 years. Trajectories of BMI using linear mixed model (LMM) analysis were used to investigate the influence of early parental and childhood factors on BMI at 14 years in the Raine birth…

Substantial evidence suggests that rumination is an important vulnerability factor for adolescent depression. Despite this, few studies have examined environmental risk factors that might lead to rumination and, subsequently, depression in adolescence. This study examined the hypothesis that an adverse family environment is a risk factor for…

Objective: This study examines the association between maternal anxiety from pregnancy to 5 years and child attention problems at 5 and 14 years. Method: Birth cohort of 3,982 individuals born in Brisbane between 1981 and 1983 are assessed. Self-reported measures of maternal anxiety are assessed at four time points. Maternal reports of child…

Following a biopsychosocial model, the study investigated the role of child factors (gender, IQ), maternal factors (psychological distress, maternal education and vocabulary, maternal distress) and environmental factors (SES) in the relationship between language impairment and behaviour problems in preschool children. Participants were drawn from…

The National Partnership Agreement for Indigenous Early Childhood Development (COAG 2008a) aims to halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade, halve the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade, and ensure all Indigenous 4-year-olds have access to quality early childhood…

Background: High rates of conduct difficulties have been reported among children with borderline intellectual disabilities or intellectual disabilities. Little is known about predictors of the persistence of conduct difficulties in the pre-adolescent period in this high-risk group. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the first three waves of…

This research examined the "mental health literacy" of adolescents concerning eating-disordered behavior. A vignette describing a fictional 16-year old female meeting diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa was presented to 522 female high school students, followed by a series of questions concerning treatment of and treatment-seeking…