Publications

This study aims to improve understanding of criminogenic risk factors, particularly the role of informant-rated executive functioning in the age of offending onset among young people. the study reviewed 100 file records to gather information on criminogenic factors (out-of-home care, adverse childhood experiences, school disengagement, negative peer association, age of substance use onset), and found only age of substance use onset to be a significant predictor of age of offending onset.

Consequences for children born with birth defects and developmental disabilities encompassed by FASD are profound, affecting all areas of social, behavioural and cognitive functioning. Given the strong evidence for a core deficit in executive functioning, underpinned by impaired self-regulation skills, there has been a growing focus on the development of interventions that enhance or support the development of executive functions. This review aims to synthesise the evidence for structured psychological interventions that explicitly aim to improve executive function in children. The review also sought to ascertain if the effectiveness of interventions were influenced by characteristics of the intervention, participants or type of executive function targeted by the intervention.

This study captures an international perspective on current FASD diagnostic criteria, as well as potential barriers and facilitators towards a globally unified approach to FASD diagnosis. A lack of collaboration was identified as a key barrier, while strong leadership in guideline creation and implementation emerged as a central facilitator. These barriers and facilitators can be used to guide future collaborative efforts towards implementing consistent diagnostic criteria.

This study explored whether exposure to either an ‘ambiguous consumption’ prototype (no amount of alcohol specified) or a ‘small consumption’ prototype (‘small’ amount of alcohol specified) had an impact on prototype perceptions of, and willingness to use, small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy.

Research has suggested that information communicated by public health and industry-funded organizations differ, as organizations linked to industry have tended to downplay risks with alcohol more broadly and pregnancy specifically. This study describes communication of health risks associated with alcohol use during pregnancy on Twitter by Australian-based organizations and stakeholders. 

This study sought to determine data collection approaches in Australian cohort studies and explore the potential impact on reported prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) prevalence and patterns. PAE prevalence was estimated as 48% (95% CI: 38 to 57%). Use of trained assessors was an influencing factor of the prevalence estimates when data were collected via interview. Alcohol-focused studies reported higher prevalence of PAE, regardless of method of survey administration. Where interviewer training is not possible, self-administered questionnaires was found most likely provide the most reliable PAE estimates.