James Scott

James Scott
University of Queensland | UQ · Child Health Research Centre

Professor

About

474
Publications
247,740
Reads
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98,504
Citations
Additional affiliations
January 2007 - September 2010
The Royal Children's Hospital
Position
  • Medical Director Child and Family Therapy Unit
January 2006 - January 2010
Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital
Position
  • Managing Director
September 2010 - present
Royal Brisbane Hospital
Position
  • Consultant Psychiatrist

Publications

Publications (474)
Article
Full-text available
Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a profound negative impact on health. However, the strength of the association between ACEs and pregnancy complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes is not well quantified or understood. Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between ACEs and risk of preg...
Article
Background: Externalizing symptoms are associated with risk of future substance use disorder (SUD). Few longitudinal studies exist using general population-based samples which assess the spectrum of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms. Aims/objectives: We aimed to study the association...
Article
Background/objectives: To investigate the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of sense of purpose (SOP) interventions in preventing or reducing anxiety or depression in youth aged 14-24 years. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of the academic (PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE) and grey literature. We also consulted two SOP exp...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background The Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) is used to assess an individual’s inner working model of interpersonal relationships and attachment style. The study evaluated the factor structure, sex invariance, and convergent validity of the ASQ among middle-aged women and their young adult offspring. Methods Middle aged mothers (n = 3,605, M...
Article
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Objectives To describe the aims, design, methodology, and respondent sample representativeness of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS). Design, setting Cross-sectional, retrospective survey; computer-assisted mobile telephone interviewing using random digit dialling (computer-generated), Australia, 9 April – 11 October 2021. ParticipantsP...
Article
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Objectives To estimate the prevalence in Australia of each type of child maltreatment; to identify gender- and age group-related differences in prevalence. Design, setting Cross-sectional national survey; mobile telephone interviews using random digit dialling (computer-generated), Australia, 9 April – 11 October 2021. Retrospective self-report dat...
Article
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Objectives To examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population.DesignPopulation-representative survey conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing. Setting, participants Australian residents aged 16 years and older. Main outcome measures Mental disorder diagnoses of lifeti...
Article
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Objectives To determine the prevalence in Australia of multi-type child maltreatment, defined as two or more maltreatment types (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or exposure to domestic violence) and to examine its nature, family risk factors, and gender and age cohort differences. Design Retrospective cross-sectional survey...
Article
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Objective: To estimate associations between all five types of child maltreatment (emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence) and health risk behaviours and conditions. Design, setting, participants: Nationally representative survey of Australian residents aged 16 years and older conducted by comput...
Article
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Objectives: To examine associations between child maltreatment and health service use, both overall, by type and by the number of types of maltreatment reported. Design, setting: Cross-sectional, retrospective survey using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study); computer-assisted mobile...
Article
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The mixed cognitive outcomes in early psychosis (EP) have important implications for recovery. In this longitudinal study, we asked whether baseline differences in the cognitive control system (CCS) in EP participants would revert toward a normative trajectory seen in healthy controls (HC). Thirty EP and 30 HC undertook functional MRI at baseline u...
Article
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Background and hypothesis: Impairments in the expression, experience, and recognition of emotion are common in early psychosis (EP). Computational accounts of psychosis suggest disrupted top-down modulation by the cognitive control system (CCS) on perceptual circuits underlies psychotic experiences, but their role in emotional deficits in EP is un...
Article
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Background: To establish national prevalence of child maltreatment, reliable, valid and contextually appropriate measurement is needed. This paper outlines the refinement, adaptation and testing of child maltreatment sections of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ)-R2 for use in the Australian context. Methods: Three phases were undert...
Article
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Young Australians have been differentially affected by lockdowns and social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study compared the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions for young people in two Australian states, Victoria and Queensland, with Victoria experiencing more days in lockdown and greater inf...
Article
Background: Use of tobacco and cannabis is common and has been reported to predict lung function. Less is known about co-use of tobacco and cannabis and their impact on changes in lung function to early adulthood. Research question: The study examines whether cigarette smoking or cannabis use and co-use are each associated with lung function in...
Article
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We are delighted to present you the Proceedings of the 2022 CNS meeting. The CNS meeting encourages approaches that combine theoretical, computational, and experimental work in the neurosciences, and provides an opportunity for participants to share their views. The abstracts corresponding to speakers' talks and posters are what you find collected...
Article
(Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2022;62:226–233. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13403) There is increased recent literature suggesting an association of birth by cesarean delivery (CD) with neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Considering the world-wide utilization of CD, it is critical to understand any long-term adverse outcomes. Previous findings related t...
Article
Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the concurrent and construct validity as well as the sensitivity of five multi-attribute utility instruments (MAUIs) including the AQol-6D, EQ-5D-Y, HUI 2&3, and the CHU9D, one generic paediatric quality of life instrument, (PedsQL) to three routinely collected outcome measures in Australian m...
Article
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Climate change affects mental health through multiple pathways, including direct and indirect impacts, physical health and awareness of the climate crisis. Climate change increases the magnitude and frequency of extreme events with little or no time for recovery. This Review aims to provide an overview of the current evidence to inform the mental h...
Article
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Objectives: To investigate whether vitamin D supplementation reduces depressive symptoms and incidence of antidepressant use. Methods: We used data from the D-Health Trial (N = 21,315), a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of monthly vitamin D3 for the prevention of all-cause mortality. Participants were Australians aged 60-84 year...
Article
Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an immune-mediated disorder that typically presents with rapid development of neuropsychiatric symptoms. As a potentially reversible cause of psychosis, there have been calls internationally for routine serological screening for anti-NMDAR antibodies in patients presenting with first-episod...
Article
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) 2018 position statement supports increased, regulated availability of e-cigarettes (ECs) as a harm-reduction measure and recommends further research into their use. Aligned with this recommendation, we aimed to critically evaluate the RANZCP’s stance on this issue through a lit...
Article
Background and Hypothesis The sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people with psychosis has been largely overlooked. We hypothesised that there are key deficiencies in the existing literature on the SRH of adolescents and young adults with psychotic disorders. Study Design We conducted a systematic scoping review using Pubmed, Web of Sci...
Article
A range of adult health outcomes have been linked to early childhood adversities. These early adversities include parental marital breakdown and family economic disadvantage. Childhood experiences of maltreatment have also been linked to a variety of adult health outcomes. As both childhood adversities and child maltreatment often co-occur, we exam...
Preprint
Objectives: To investigate the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of sense of purpose (SOP) interventions in preventing or reducing anxiety or depression in young people aged 14-24 years.Methods: A systematic search was conducted of the academic (PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE) and grey literature from the past 10 years. We also consulted t...
Article
Background and Hypothesis The nature of the robust association between cannabis use and schizophrenia remains undetermined. Plausible hypotheses explaining this relationship include the premise that cannabis use causes schizophrenia, increased liability for schizophrenia increases the risk of cannabis use initiation (eg, self-medication), or the bi...
Article
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A large number of early life exposures predict child maltreatment. Using data from a 30-year birth cohort study we examine 12 early life course risk factors of four types of self-reported childhood maltreatment recalled at the 30-year follow-up. Of the 7223 children in the sample at birth, 2425 responded to the Child Trauma Questionnaire at the 30-...
Article
Background Longitudinal studies examining the effect of cannabis exposure (CE) on the prognosis of adolescents with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are scarce. We examined trajectories of mental health in adolescents with PLEs and cannabis exposure. Methods The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n = 6552) with linkage to nationwide register dat...
Article
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Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with many health problems in women during pregnancy, including depression/anxiety, gestational diabetes and adverse birth outcomes. However, unlike other health risk factors, screening for ACEs has not been widely implemented in antenatal care settings. Aims: The aim of the scoping...
Article
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Cognitive impairment in psychosis is one of the strongest predictors of functional decline. Problems with decision-making processes, such as goal-directed action and reversal learning, can reflect cortico-striatal dysfunction. The heterogenous symptoms and neurobiology observed in those with psychosis suggests that specific cognitive phenotypes may...
Article
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Introduction The increasing prevalence of developmental disorders in early childhood poses a significant global health burden. Early detection of developmental problems is vital to ensure timely access to early intervention, and universal developmental surveillance is recommended best practice for identifying issues. Despite this, there is currentl...
Article
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Introduction Peer victimization and aggression in adolescence are associated with later mental health morbidity. However, studies examining this association have not controlled for adolescent substance use. We aimed to study the associations between peer victimization, peer aggression, and mental disorders in adulthood, adjusting for substance use...
Article
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A commonly suggested strategy for addressing bullying is for victims to seek help from a trusted person. Despite this recommendation, there are a group of adolescent victims who choose not to seek help. This study aimed to identify factors associated with not seeking help among adolescents who experienced bullying victimisation. A sub-sample of you...
Article
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Background: Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) has been associated with increased risk of mortality in large register samples. However, there is less known about the association between symptoms of ADHD in adolescents and risk of mortality in general population samples. Methods: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n =...
Article
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with both dietary fat intake and obesity in later life. There is less information on associations with metabolic risk factors and specific types of CM such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as neglect. Aims: To assess the association between five types of self-reported CM and a...
Article
Background The long-term mental and physical health consequences of childhood maltreatment have been well documented. Less known are the longer-term consequences of childhood maltreatment, specifically the extent to which childhood maltreatment predicts adult life success. Objectives To prospectively assess the extent to which childhood experience...
Article
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Unlabelled: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of different forms of bullying victimization experiences and their association with family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness among adolescents across 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs). Data were drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-Age...
Article
Bullying victimisation is a serious risk factor for mental health problems in children and adolescents. School bullying prevention programs have consistently produced small to moderate reductions in victimisation and perpetration. However, these programs do not necessarily help all students affected by bullying. Paradoxically whole-school programs...
Article
Objective The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists recommends screening for a range of antibodies in first-episode psychosis, including anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies. Glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody–associated encephalitis occurs with high antibody titres and may cause cognitive dysfunction, seizures and psyc...
Article
Objective To identify and describe the available literature quantifying the economic burden associated with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Methods A search of five electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, EconLit, CINAHL, EMBASE) and hand searches of bibliographies was conducted to identify all relevant articles written in English and pub...
Article
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Background and aims: There are few longitudinal studies assessing the association of cannabis use and subsequent onset of bipolar disorder. We aimed to measure the association between early cannabis exposure and subsequent bipolar disorder. Design, setting, and participants: Observational study linking a sample from the Northern Finland Birth Co...
Article
Background While some studies have reported that early age of onset of cannabis and amphetamine use predicts a range of adverse outcomes, these findings are rarely adjusted for other predictors of adverse outcomes or subsequent drug use over the adult life course. These studies have not addressed the possibility that it is subsequent rather than ea...
Article
Objective: Clozapine is the most effective medication for treatment refractory schizophrenia; however, it is associated with severe cardiac adverse events including myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. To aid treatment decision making for clinicians, patients, and their carers, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify potential ri...
Article
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Aim This study examines 3 years of child and adolescent health data from Australian onshore and offshore immigration detention centres from 2014 to 2017, quantifying the health presentation data of children and adolescents in Australian immigration detention and comparing rates between onshore and offshore detention. Methods This study utilised th...
Article
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Objective: This study aimed to estimate the global level prevalence of different forms of bullying victimization experiences and their association with family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness among adolescents across 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs). Methods: Data were drawn from the Health B...
Article
Experiences of ‘climate anxiety’ are considered an adaptive response to a real threat, as well as a potential cause of impairment. To date, little attention has been paid to how children and adolescents may be uniquely predisposed to climate anxiety, despite being an age cohort particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This Review u...
Article
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Background: The mental disorders included in the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 were depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, idiopathic developmental intellectual disabili...
Article
Objective Mental health service use by individuals without a diagnosed mental disorder is sometimes termed ‘met un-need’. However, provision of services for this group may be necessary to provide appropriate assessment, referral and early intervention. This study quantified child and adolescent use of, and perceived need for, mental health services...
Article
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Background Schizophrenia is a persistent psychotic disorder often accompanied by severe disability and premature mortality. New pharmacological treatments are urgently needed. Sodium benzoate, a common food preservative holds potential to be an effective, accessible treatment for schizophrenia, though the optimal dosing and mechanism of action of t...
Article
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Epidemiological surveys measuring the prevalence of child maltreatment generate essential knowledge that is required to enhance human rights, promote gender equality, and reduce child abuse and neglect and its effects. Yet, evidence suggests Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) may assess the risk of these studies using higher than normal thresholds,...
Article
Aim To identify and describe key service components that should be incorporated into age-appropriate integrated mental health care for young adults aged 18–24 years. Methods Key service components were identified through a mixed-methods approach including targeted examinations of the literature and structured discussions with experts in youth ment...
Conference Paper
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Introduction There is evidence that maternal perinatal depression is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in children. No study has yet examined the association between maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the postpartum period and the risk of oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) in children and adolesce...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: Longitudinal studies examining the association between adolescent cannabis use and self-harm are rare, heterogenous and mixed in their conclusions. We study this association utilizing a large general population-based sample with prospective data. Methods: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n= 6582) with linkage to nationwide regi...
Article
Objective To present a practical, easy-to-implement clinical framework designed to support evidence-based quality prescribing for people with early psychosis. Method Identification and explanation of key principles relating to evidence-based pharmacotherapy for people with early psychosis. These were derived from the literature, practice guideline...
Article
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Executive dysfunctions in early psychosis (EP) are subtle but persistent, hindering recovery. We asked whether changes in the cognitive control system (CCS) disrupt the response to increased cognitive load in persons with EP. In all, 30 EP and 30 control participants undertook multimodal MRI. Computational models of structural and effective connect...
Article
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Background There is limited evidence on interventions to minimise weight gain at clozapine commencement. We compared the effect of adjunctive metformin versus placebo at clozapine initiation. Methods People with schizophrenia commencing on clozapine were randomised to either metformin or placebo for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was difference in...
Article
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Introduction and Objectives To conduct a systematic literature review of intervention programs designed to promote healthy romantic relationships in youth (aged 12–25 years). The focus was on universal interventions that have the potential to be effective and widely implemented. Methods We systematically searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Social Science D...
Article
Background: Existing evidence regarding the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the risk of maternal mental illness is inconclusive. This study sought to investigate (a) whether HDP (pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension) are independently associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and in the...
Article
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Importance An association between perinatal maternal depression and risk of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in offspring has not been established. Identifying early determinants of ODD can help inform preventative intervention efforts. Objective To investigate the association between maternal perinatal depressive symptoms and the risk of ODD i...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cognitive impairments in psychosis are one of the strongest predictors of functional decline. Cortico-striatal dysfunction may contribute to both psychosis and cognitive impairment in psychotic illnesses. The decision-making processes underlying goal-directed action and serial reversal learning can be measured and are sensitive to changes reflectin...
Article
Full-text available
Psychotic experiences (PEs) are robustly associated with subsequent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts, but questions remain as to the temporal relation and underlying cause of this association. Most investigations have incorporated only two waves of data, and no study has comprehensively investigated mediating pathways. This stud...
Article
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We test whether genetic influences that explain individual differences in aggression in early life also explain individual differences across the life-course. In two cohorts from The Netherlands ( N = 13,471) and Australia ( N = 5628), polygenic scores (PGSs) were computed based on a genome-wide meta-analysis of childhood/adolescence aggression. In...
Article
Objective Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections in pregnant women. This is the first longitudinal study investigating the association between gestational UTIs and the risk of maternal antenatal and postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms. Methods Data were utilised from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pare...
Article
Background There is a shortage of information on the costs and benefits of anti-bullying programs implemented in Australia. Information on the costs and benefits of anti-bullying programs is vital to assist policy making regarding the adoption of these programs. The aim of this study was to estimate the changes to costs and health benefits of imple...
Article
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Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children ag...
Article
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Background Cannabis use has been associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorders. However, associations between adolescent cannabis use, depression and anxiety disorders are inconsistently reported in longitudinal samples. Aims To study associations of adolescent cannabis use with depression and anxiety disorders. Method We used data from...
Article
Full-text available
Background There is concern that rates of mental disorders may be increasing although findings disagree. Using an innovative design with a daughter-mother data set we assess whether there has been a generational increase in lifetime ever rates of major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress diso...
Article
Background No biological treatment has been firmly established for the at-risk stage of psychotic disorder. In this study we aim to test if subthreshold psychotic symptoms can be effectively treated with cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound of the plant Cannabis sativa. The question has taken on increased importance in the wake of evidenc...
Article
Background: Caesarean section (CS) is associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes for both mothers and offspring. The evidence for an association between CS and reduced offspring cognitive and academic performance has been inconsistent, with considerable limitations. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare cognitive and academi...
Article
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Purpose In low- and middle-income countries, there are limited data on mental disorders among adolescents. To address this gap, the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys (NAMHS) will provide nationally representative prevalence data of mental disorders among adolescents in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This paper details the NAMHS study protoc...
Article
Objectives: People with mental illness may be vulnerable to psychological distress and reduced well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess psychosocial and lifestyle predictors of distress and well-being in people with mental illness during the pandemic. Method: People with mental illness who participated in an e...