Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableParental history of positive development and child behavior in next generation offspring: A two-cohort prospective intergenerational study(WILEY, 2023-01)This study examined whether positive development (PD) in adolescence and young adulthood predicts offspring behavior in two Australasian intergenerational cohorts. The Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 Study assessed PD at age 19-28 (years 2002-2010) and behavior in 1165 infants (12-18 months; 608 girls) of 694 Australian-born parents (age 29-35; 2012-2019; 399 mothers). The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Parenting Study assessed PD at age 15-18 (years 1987-1991) and behavior in 695 preschoolers (3-5 years; 349 girls) and their New Zealand born parents (age 21-46; 1994-2018; 363 mothers; 89% European ethnicity). In both cohorts, PD before parenthood predicted more positive offspring behavior (βrange = .11-.16) and fewer behavior problems (βrange = -.09 to -.11). Promoting strengths may secure a healthy start to life.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFrom adolescence to parenthood: a multi-decade study of preconception mental health problems and postpartum parent-infant bonds(SPRINGER HEIDELBERG, 2022-03)PURPOSE: To examine associations between anxiety and depressive symptoms across adolescence and young adulthood with subsequent maternal- and paternal-infant bonding at 1 year postpartum. METHODS: The data were from a prospective, intergenerational cohort study. Participants (381 mothers of 648 infants; 277 fathers of 421 infants) self-reported depression and anxiety at three adolescent waves (ages 13, 15 and 17 years) and three young adult waves (ages 19, 23 and 27 years). Subsequent parent-infant bonds with infants were reported at 1 year postpartum (parent age 29-35 years). Generalised estimating equations (GEE) separately assessed associations for mothers and fathers. RESULTS: Mean postpartum bonding scores were approximately half a standard deviation lower in parents with a history of persistent adolescent and young adult depressive symptoms (maternal βadj = - 0.45, 95% CI - 0.69, - 0.21; paternal βadj = - 0.55, 95% CI - 0.90, 0.20) or anxiety (maternal βadj = - 0.42, 95% CI - 0.66, - 0.18; paternal βadj = - 0.49, 95% CI - 0.95, 0.03). Associations were still mostly evident, but attenuated after further adjustment for postpartum mental health concurrent with measurement of bonding. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent symptoms of depression or anxiety spanning adolescence and young adulthood predict poorer emotional bonding with infants 1-year postbirth for both mothers and fathers.
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ItemData Resource Profile: Melbourne Children's LifeCourse initiative (LifeCourse)(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2022-10-13)
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ItemDoes adolescent heavier alcohol use predict young adult aggression and delinquency? Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies(WILEY, 2019-07)While the association between heavy alcohol consumption and aggression has been well documented, the causal direction of this association, particularly at a population level, is disputed. A number of causal sequences have been proposed. First, that aggression leads to heavy alcohol use. Second, that heavy alcohol use leads to aggression. Third, that the association between alcohol use and aggression is due to confounding by (a) sociodemographic variables or (b) delinquency. We report here data from four Australasian prospective longitudinal studies of adolescents, to assess the temporal sequence of heavy drinking and aggression over the period from adolescence to young adulthood. The four cohort studies provide a total sample of 6,706 persons (Australian Temperament Project, n = 1701; Christchurch Health and Development Study, n = 931; Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, n = 2437; Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study, n = 1637). We use multinomial logistic regression to determine whether early adolescent aggression predicts subsequent age of onset of heavy episodic drinking (HED), after adjustment for concurrent sociodemographic factors and delinquency. We then consider whether HED predicts subsequent aggression, after adjusting for past aggression, concurrent delinquency, and a range of confounders. There are broadly consistent findings across the four cohort studies. Early aggression strongly predicts subsequent HED. HED predicts later aggression after adjustment for prior aggression and other confounders. Policies that alter population levels of alcohol consumption are likely to impact on levels of aggression in societies where HED linked to aggression is more common.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMaternal mental health and infant emotional reactivity: a 20-year two-cohort study of preconception and perinatal exposures(CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2020-04)BACKGROUND: Maternal mental health during pregnancy and postpartum predicts later emotional and behavioural problems in children. Even though most perinatal mental health problems begin before pregnancy, the consequences of preconception maternal mental health for children's early emotional development have not been prospectively studied. METHODS: We used data from two prospective Australian intergenerational cohorts, with 756 women assessed repeatedly for mental health problems before pregnancy between age 13 and 29 years, and during pregnancy and at 1 year postpartum for 1231 subsequent pregnancies. Offspring infant emotional reactivity, an early indicator of differential sensitivity denoting increased risk of emotional problems under adversity, was assessed at 1 year postpartum. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of infants born to mothers with persistent preconception mental health problems were categorised as high in emotional reactivity, compared to 23% born to mothers without preconception history (adjusted OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4-3.1). Ante- and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were similarly associated with infant emotional reactivity, but these perinatal associations reduced somewhat after adjustment for prior exposure. Causal mediation analysis further showed that 88% of the preconception risk was a direct effect, not mediated by perinatal exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal preconception mental health problems predict infant emotional reactivity, independently of maternal perinatal mental health; while associations between perinatal depressive symptoms and infant reactivity are partially explained by prior exposure. Findings suggest that processes shaping early vulnerability for later mental disorders arise well before conception. There is an emerging case for expanding developmental theories and trialling preventive interventions in the years before pregnancy.
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ItemLongitudinal prediction of periconception alcohol use: a 20-year prospective cohort study across adolescence, young adulthood and pregnancy(WILEY, 2022-02)BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alcohol consumption is common in adolescence and young adulthood and may continue into pregnancy, posing serious risk to early fetal development. We examine the frequency of periconception alcohol use (prior to pregnancy awareness) and the extent to which adolescent and young adult alcohol use prospectively predict periconception use. DESIGN: A longitudinal, population-based study. SETTING: Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 289 women in trimester three of pregnancy (age 29-35 years; 388 pregnancies). MEASURES: The main exposures were binge [≥ 4.0 standard drinks (SDs)/day] and frequent (≥ 3 days/week) drinking in adolescence (mean age = 14.9-17.4 years) and young adulthood (mean age 20.7-29.1 years). Outcomes were frequency (≥ 3 days/week, ≥ monthly, never) and quantity (≥ 4.0 SDs, ≥ 0.5 and < 4.0 SDs, none) of periconception drinking. FINDINGS: Alcohol use was common in young adulthood prior to pregnancy (72%) and in the early weeks of pregnancy (76%). The proportions drinking on most days and binge drinking were similar at both points. Reflecting a high degree of continuity in alcohol use behaviours, most women who drank periconceptionally had an earlier history of frequent (77%) and/or binge (85%) drinking throughout the adolescent or young adult years. Young adult binge drinking prospectively predicted periconception drinking quantity [odds ratio (OR) = 3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.9-7.4], compared with women with no prior history. Similarly, frequent young adult drinking prospectively predicted frequent periconception drinking (OR = 30.7, 95% CI = 12.3-76.7). CONCLUSIONS: Women who engage in risky (i.e. frequent and binge) drinking in their adolescent and young adult years are more likely to report risky drinking in early pregnancy prior to pregnancy recognition than women with no prior history of risky drinking.
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ItemAlcohol and parenthood: An integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts(ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD, 2019-04-01)AIMS: To determine the extent to which the transition to parenthood protects against heavy and problematic alcohol consumption in young men and women. DESIGN: Integrated participant-level data analysis from three population-based prospective Australasian cohort studies. SETTING: General community; participants from the Australian Temperament Study, the Christchurch Health and Development Study, and the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study. MEASUREMENTS: Recent binge drinking, alcohol abuse/dependence and number of standard drinks consumed per occasion. FINDINGS: 4015 participants (2151 females; 54%) were assessed on four occasions between ages 21 and 35. Compared to women with children aged <12 months, women who had not transitioned to parenthood were more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence (fully adjusted risk ratio [RR] 3.5; 95% CI 1.5-7.9) and to report recent binge drinking (RR 3.0; 95% CI 2.1-4.3). The proportion of women meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence and/or binge drinking increased with the age of participants' youngest child, as did the mean number of standard drinks consumed on each occasion (1.8 if the youngest child was <1 year of age vs. 3.6 for 5+ years of age). Associations between parenthood and male drinking behaviour were considerably weaker. CONCLUSIONS: For most women in their twenties and thirties, parenting a child <1 year of age was associated with reduced alcohol consumption. However, this protective effect diminished after 12 months with drinking levels close to pre-parenthood levels after five years. There was little change in male drinking with the transition to parenthood.
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ItemAdverse adult consequences of different alcohol use patterns in adolescence: an integrative analysis of data to age 30 years from four Australasian cohorts(WILEY, 2018-10)BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies have linked adolescent alcohol use with adverse consequences in adulthood, yet it is unclear how strong the associations are and to what extent they may be due to confounding. Our aim was to estimate the strength of association between different patterns of adolescent drinking and longer-term psychosocial harms taking into account individual, family and peer factors. DESIGN: Participant-level data were integrated from four long-running longitudinal studies: Australian Temperament Project, Christchurch Health and Development Study, Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy and Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study. SETTING: Australia and New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were assessed on multiple occasions between ages 13 and 30 years (from 1991 to 2012). Number of participants varied (up to n = 9453) by analysis. MEASUREMENTS: Three patterns of alcohol use (frequent, heavy episodic and problem drinking) were assessed prior to age 17. Thirty outcomes were assessed to age 30 spanning substance use and related problems, antisocial behaviour, sexual risk-taking, accidents, socio-economic functioning, mental health and partner relationships. FINDINGS: After covariate adjustment, weekly drinking prior to age 17 was associated with a two- to threefold increase in the odds of binge drinking [odds ratio (OR) = 2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.57-2.90], drink driving (OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.84-4.19), alcohol-related problems (OR = 3.04; 95% CI = 1.90-4.84) and alcohol dependence (OR = 3.30; 95% CI = 1.69-6.47) in adulthood. Frequency of drinking accounted for a greater proportion of the rate of most adverse outcomes than the other measures of alcohol use. Associations between frequent, heavy episodic and problem drinking in adolescence and most non-alcohol outcomes were largely explained by shared risk factors for adolescent alcohol use and poor psychosocial functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of adolescent drinking predicts substance use problems in adulthood as much as, and possibly more than, heavy episodic and problem drinking independent of individual, family and peer predictors of those outcomes.
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