Jeneva Ohan

University of Western Australia | UWA · School of Psychological Science

Background Psychological distress in the early postpartum period can have long-lasting deleterious effects on a mother’s well-being and negatively affect her infant’s development. Intervention approaches based in contemplative practices such as mindfulness and loving-kindness and compassion are intended to alleviate distress and cultivate well-bein...

Background: 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. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) duri...

Background: Positive maternal mental health during the perinatal period contributes to general well-being and positive emotional bonds with the child, encouraging an optimal developmental trajectory. Online interventions to enhance maternal well-being and develop coping skills, such as meditation-based interventions, can be a low-cost way to impro...

Background: The long-term effects of childhood cancer are unclear in the Australian context. We examined hospitalisation trends for physical diseases and estimated the associated inpatient care costs in all 5-year childhood cancer survivors (CCS) diagnosed in Western Australia (WA) from 1982-2014. Methods: Hospitalisation records for 2,938 CCS a...

Background: Digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions can effectively prevent and treat depression and anxiety, but engagement with these programs is often low. Although extensive research has evaluated program use as a proxy for engagement, the extent to which users acquire knowledge and enact skills from these programs has been la...

Background: Parental reflective function (PRF) is a candidate mechanism in the transmission of intergenerational trauma. This systematic review examined (1) the association between parental history of childhood maltreatment and PRF, (2) how PRF relates to attachment in children of parent survivors, and (3) whether PRF moderates the association bet...

Purpose: To identify the experiences and needs of dependent children who have a parent with an acquired brain injury (ABI) using a systematic review and thematic synthesis. Materials and methods: A systematic search of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science was conducted. The search included variants of: "children," "parents,...

BACKGROUND Psychological distress in the early postpartum period can have long-lasting deleterious effects on maternal wellbeing, and negatively impact her infant’s development. Intervention approaches based in contemplative practices, such as mindfulness and loving-kindness and compassion, are intended to alleviate distress and cultivate wellbeing...

Background Mental health inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations are well documented. There is growing recognition of the role that culturally safety plays in achieving equitable outcomes. However, a clear understanding of the key characteristics of culturally safe mental health care is currently lacking. This protocol outlines...

Objectives Tertiary education is particularly demanding for students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who often struggle with emotion regulation and are at greater risk of internalising disorders compared to their peers. Self-compassion is a skill associated with positive mental health and adaptive emotion regulation that might...

BACKGROUND Digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions can effectively prevent and treat depression and anxiety, but engagement with these programs is often low. Although extensive research has evaluated program use as a proxy for engagement, the extent to which users acquire knowledge and enact skills from these programs has been larg...

Background. Population-level estimates of hospitalisations for physical disease in recently treated populations of childhood cancer survivors are limited. In the Australian context, the long-term effects of childhood cancer on survivors and the health system are unclear. We examined the trends in primary hospitalisations for physical disease in a w...

Many adolescents with diverse sexual orientations lead happy and fulfilled lives. However, evidence consistently suggests elevated rates of mental health difficulties in this population relative to heterosexual peers, and internalization of stigma (i.e., self-stigma) is implicated in these elevated rates. This study aimed to understand and describe...

Objectives: Parenting is central to children's optimal development and accounts for a substantial proportion of the variance in child outcomes, including up to 40% of child mental health. Parenting is also one of the most modifiable, proximal, and direct factors for preventing and treating a range of children's problems and enhancing wellbeing. To...

BACKGROUND Pregnancy and the postnatal period can be a time of increased psychological distress which can be detrimental to both the mother and the developing child. Digital interventions are cost-effective and accessible tools to support positive mental health for women in the perinatal period. While studies report efficacy, a key concern regardin...

Background: Pregnancy and the postnatal period can be a time of increased psychological distress, which can be detrimental to both the mother and the developing child. Digital interventions are cost-effective and accessible tools to support positive mental health in women during the perinatal period. Although studies report efficacy, a key concern...

The stigma of young children with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental disorders is experienced by their parents in at least two ways: self-stigma and vicarious stigma. Secrecy may diminish stigma through impression management or strategic disclosure. The present study explores the relationship between vicarious stigma, self-stigma, secrecy copi...

Self-stigma (the direction of stigmatizing beliefs towards oneself) is likely to be an important factor to understand mental health and suicidality in some sexuality-diverse adolescents. This study describes the lived experience of self-stigma in this group, discusses re-conceptualization of this construct, and makes recommendations for intervening...

Children with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have difficulty adapting to the school context and may therefore be more likely to be suspended. We examined the association between ACEs and suspensions using linked administrative data on children born in Western Australia from July 2003–June 2004 who attended a government school during 2009–...

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional health and wellbeing and support needs of perinatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to understand their experiences and need for support. This is a potentially vulnerable group and a critical developmental phase for women and infants. A mixed methods design was used to...

Introduction Self-regulation is a modifiable protective factor for lifespan mental and physical health outcomes. Early caregiver-mediated interventions to promote infant and child regulatory outcomes prevent long-term developmental, emotional and behavioural difficulties and improve outcomes such as school readiness, educational achievement and eco...

Naturalistic studies show that children can create language-like communication systems in the absence of conventional language. However, experimental evidence is mixed. We address this discrepancy using an experimental paradigm that simulates naturalistic sign creation. Specifically, we tested if a sample of 6- to 12-year-old children (52 girls and...

Background Young adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse genders and sexualities (LGBTQIA+) are more likely to experience mental health difficulties and are at significantly elevated risk of substance abuse, self-harm and suicide, relative to their heterosexual, endosex and cisgender p...

Background and Objectives Self-regulation is a modifiable protective factor for lifespan mental and physical health outcomes. Early caregiver-mediated interventions to promote infant and child regulatory outcomes prevent long-term developmental, emotional, and behavioural difficulties and improve outcomes such as school readiness, educational achie...

There is clear evidence that people who are attracted to the same gender face worse mental health outcomes than their peers; however, it is unclear if this problem is worse at particular stages of development. To clarify this, a systematic review was conducted to describe the overall trajectories of mental health difficulties across development for...

Objectives Self-stigma in parents of children with a mental health disorder is a painful experience, yet the process by which it is formed is poorly understood. A model of this process would improve our understanding and inform intervention development. The two existing models of self-stigma have not been tested with parents of children with a ment...

BACKGROUND Promoting psychological wellbeing and preventing distress among pregnant women is an important public health goal. In addition to adversely impacting the mother’s health and wellbeing, psychological distress in pregnancy increases the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, compromises infant socioemotional development and bonding, and heighten...

Background: Promoting psychological well-being and preventing distress among pregnant women is an important public health goal. In addition to adversely impacting the mother's health and well-being, psychological distress in pregnancy increases the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, compromises infant socioemotional development and bonding, and heig...

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate how psychosocial interventions for children aged 0–18 years of a parent with cancer meet their needs, using key needs as consumer‐based “standards.” Methods A systematic literature review was conducted. Fifteen interventions met inclusion criteria and were assessed against six key needs identified...

Full copy of the Parents' Self-Stigma Scale

Studies of relationships between orthographic knowledge (OK), rapid automatised naming (RAN) and reading have yielded mixed results due to inconsistency in measures used, the definition of OK and group characteristics. We comprehensively examined OK (MGR; mental graphemic representations and GOK; generic orthographic knowledge, accuracy/efficiency)...

The distinction between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is new to the child literature, but initial findings suggest that it may have important implications for understanding adjustment. This study examined how expressions of narcissism in children influence their reactions to a mild egothreats experience. Children (N = 124; aged 8–12 years) co...

Purpose Australian population data regarding the number and sociodemographic characteristics of children affected by a parent’s cancer are not currently available. Moreover, predictions that this population is increasing have not been tested. This study provides data on the number and sociodemographic characteristics of parents with cancer and thei...

Transcribing qualitative data is resource-intensive. One less intensive alternative is scribing: the documenting of comprehensive notes, including verbatim quotes by an independent observer during an interview. However, the extent to which a comparable thematic analysis can be derived from scribed interview data relative to verbatim transcriptions...

Background Currently, there is mixed evidence regarding the effects on children when a parent is chronically ill. Research has also primarily been conducted with adolescent samples. This study investigated developmental vulnerabilities in young children of parents with chronic illness. Methods This study used linked administrative data. The study...

For parents of children with a mental health disorder, self-stigma can negatively impact their self-esteem and empowerment. Although measures of self-stigma exist, these have not been created in consultation with parents of children with a mental health disorder. Thus, the aim of this study was to construct a new scale based on parents' experiences...

Objective University students experience high rates of distress and place increasing demands on provisions of support. Web‐based interventions may provide a low‐cost, accessible low intensity format to support students to make changes to improve their health and wellbeing. Method This study evaluated the efficacy of two web‐based interventions in...

Introduction Children who have been maltreated during early childhood may experience a difficult transition into schooling, due to maladaptive development of the abilities that are important for positive school adaptation. An understanding of how different dimensions of maltreatment relate to children’s school readiness is important for informing a...

Introduction Despite limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of out-of-school suspension for rectifying behavioural issues, the practice continues. Certain demographic factors (male, ethnic minority, low SES) predict suspensions; however, developmental and family factors can also play a role. Knowledge of these factors may inform alternative...

Clinical and empirical research have consistently distinguished two dimensions of narcissism: grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism. However, to date there is no psychometrically validated measure of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism for children. A measure that assesses both expressions of narcissism in children and adolescents is neces...

Aims Children of parents with psychiatric disorders are at risk of poor outcomes. However, there is limited evidence regarding the relationship between parental psychiatric disorders and child school readiness, which is linked to later academic achievement. This study aims to investigate these relationships and broaden the evidence underlying the r...

There is evidence that children of incarcerated parents are at risk of poor developmental and educational outcomes. However, much of this evidence is limited by biased samples, as studies must rely on opt-in recruitment. Administrative data present an opportunity to overcome this challenge, as they capture information on all incarcerated individual...

Help-seeking is important for patients with suicidal ideation. Currently, a risk management paradigm is used with patients who express suicidality; however, this may limit support and increase stigma, reducing future help-seeking. Coping planning is proposed as a paradigm shift that overcomes these problems by focusing on patient needs and strength...

The asymmetric sampling in time hypothesis (AST) suggests that the left and right secondary auditory areas process auditory stimuli according to different sampling rates (Poeppel, 2003). We investigated whether asymmetries consistent with the AST are observable in children at age 7 and whether they become more pronounced at age 9. Data were collect...

Children who have been maltreated during early childhood may experience a difficult transition into fulltime schooling, due to maladaptive development of the skills and abilities that are important for positive school adaptation. An understanding of how different dimensions of maltreatment relate to children’s school readiness is important for info...

Background/Objective: Social vulnerability refers to difficulties detecting potentially harmful interpersonal situations. Although it is an important predictor of psychosocial and interpersonal difficulties in clinical samples, research investigating this construct is scarce. We aimed to (a) develop a brief measure for assessing social vulnerabilit...

Separation and divorce are significant life stressors for families. The developmental outcomes for children from this experience are dependent on a range of factors, including co-parental conflict, poor parenting, and parental mental health. Parenting interventions, particularly early in the separation process, have the potential to address modifia...

Research on trait narcissism is hindered by considerable confusion over its underlying structure, especially differences between pathological and normal narcissism, and grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. To address this problem, we describe two studies that examined the factor structure of a broad range of narcissism items and the implications fo...

Objective The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was developed for clinicians and researchers as a brief screening instrument for behavioural and emotional problems in children. Administered in its traditional pen‐and‐paper format, the SDQ has demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The SDQ is increasingly being administered online,...

Poor well-being in university students is a serious concern. Using self-kindness – an attitude of understanding and benevolence in times of adversity or failure – may be key to enabling students to maintain well-being despite the pressures inherent to their student role. This study aimed to test a theoretically guided model of how self-kindness, al...

Objective: Throughout a parent's cancer diagnosis and treatment, families are likely to turn to the Internet to find social, emotional and informational support services. It is important professionals understand the content and availability of support discoverable through web searches. This study identified and described web-based information rega...

Objectives Previous research has demonstrated an association between parental mental illness and adverse developmental outcomes in their offspring. If parental mental illness impacts on child development such that their offspring do not optimally develop the skills and abilities required for academic success, the effects may be long lasting. To dat...

Parents of children with mental health disorders are often faced with the dilemma of disclosing or concealing their child’s disorder. These decisions have important implications for both child and parent. Our aim is to describe mothers’ experiences with the disclosure dilemma; specifically, we describe what is disclosed (or concealed), how, and why...

Self-kindness, which is thought to be part of self-compassion, has the potential to contribute to mental health, as well as serve as a focus for interventions. However, little attention has been given to the potential role of self-kindness specifically, especially in the context of mindful presence and available social support, in buffering distres...

Self-stigma detracts from the wellbeing, self-esteem, and social connectedness of adults with mental health disorders. Although emerging research has indicated that self-stigma may have similar consequences for parents of children with mental health disorders, currently we lack a comprehensive description of how parents experience self-stigma. To a...

Objective: This study examined the association between chronic illness and school readiness, by using linked administrative population data. Methods: The sample included children born in 2003-2004 who were residing in Western Australia in 2009 and had a complete Australian Early Development Census record (N = 22 890). Health and demographic info...

Parents’ adjustment, co-parenting conflict, and parenting style are often intervention targets for parents following divorce. However, little is known about how these three aspects together relate to child outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine how parent adjustment (distress and anger), parenting conflict, and parenting style (laxness and...

School psychologists are in a key position to be able to address children’s mental health problems, and current models emphasise service provision that collaborates between communities, families, and schools. Thus, it is important to determine what barriers, if any, parents perceive in seeking help from school psychologists when they have a mental...

School psychologists are in a key position to be able to address children’s mental health problems, and current models emphasise service provision that collaborates between communities, families, and schools. Thus, it is important to determine what barriers, if any, parents perceive in seeking help from school psychologists when they have a mental...

In the DSM-5, 'Asperger's Disorder' was incorporated into 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' (ASD). One key concern in this change has been that the ASD label will increase negative attitudes relative to the Asperger's label. To test this, we asked 465 American adults to read a vignette describing a child with autistic symptoms that included an ASD label...

Previous studies have shown that humans are sensitive to statistical patterns indicating the likely locations, identities, and timings of visual targets. Here we tested whether participants can also use this kind of information to ameliorate the attentional blink (AB)-a reduction in accuracy for the second of two targets (T1, T2) presented at brief...

Play is vital to children's development, health and resilience. Play modulates cognitive, emotional and social well-being. Children constitute approximately half of all humanitarian refugee entrants resettled in Australia. Refugee children are commonly victims and witnesses of war and persecution, living across resource-poor environs during transit...

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) workers are often stigmatised. This article describes a systematic review of the existing literature that addresses three aims: (1) identify how stigma occurs for people working in the AOD field, (2) identify what the impacts of stigma are on AOD workers and AOD service provision more broadly and (3) identify what exten...

OBJECTIVE There is concern that diagnostic labels for psychiatric disorders may invoke damaging stigma, especially for children. This study compared parents' stigma toward children with the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or depression versus the same symptoms plus a psychiatric label. METHODS Parents (N=225) rated their...

The devastating social, emotional, and economic consequences of human aggression are laid bare nightly on newscasts around the world. Aggression is principally mediated by neural circuitry comprising multiple areas of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala, and hi...

When observers are asked to identify two targets in rapid sequence, they often suffer profound performance deficits for the second target, even when the spatial location of the targets is known. This attentional blink (AB) is usually attributed to the time required to process a previous target, implying that a link should exist between individual d...

Emerging evidence suggests that adolescent girls with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more socially impaired compared with their peers; however, research has yet to elucidate the nature of this impairment. We investigated overt (e.g., physical, such as hitting or kicking or verbal, such as teasing and taunting) and relational (e...

When two targets (T1, T2) are presented amongst a rapid stream of distractors, T2 accuracy is impaired if the targets are separated by at least one distractor (attentional blink). However, this impairment largely disappears if the targets follow one another directly (lag-1 sparing), and, in fact, as many as four or five consecutive targets may be i...

We compared social self-competence ratings in 9-12 year old girls with (n = 42) versus without (n = 40) ADHD, relative to ratings of the girls' social competence made by mothers, teachers, and blind raters during a social laboratory task. Relative to scores from mothers, teachers, and the lab-task, girls with ADHD over-estimated their competence si...

Thirty-four elementary school teachers and 32 education students from Canada rated their reactions towards vignettes describing children who met attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom criteria that included or did not include the label "ADHD." "ADHD"-labeled vignettes elicited greater perceptions of the child's impairment as well a...

This study addressed why girls are less likely to be referred for mental health services for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than boys. Ninety-six parents of children with elevated ADHD symptoms and 140 elementary school teachers read vignettes about children with ADHD. Half of the participants read vignettes with boys' names, and h...

To examine aggression in adolescent males with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI). Quasi-experimental, matched-participants design. Thirty-nine adolescents were examined, including a TBI group (n = 11) and a matched, uninjured comparison group (n = 28). Participants with TBI were injured an average of 8.3 years (SD = 4.2 years) prior. Partici...

When two targets are embedded in a temporal stream of distractors, second-target identification is initially impaired and then gradually improves as inter-target interval lengthens (attentional blink; AB). Notably, in about half of the published studies, this deficit is partially ameliorated when the targets follow one another directly, a condition...

This study surveyed elementary school teachers in Melbourne, Australia to investigate their knowledge about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its impact on their reported behavior toward and perceptions of children with ADHD. Consistent with previous international findings, teachers demonstrated good overall knowledge about ADHD,...

When two targets are embedded in a temporal stream of distractors, second-target identification is initially impaired and then gradually improves as intertarget interval lengthens (attentional blink; AB). According to bottleneck models of the AB, difficulty of first-target processing should modulate the magnitude of the second-target deficit. To te...

This study explores the social impact of ADHD, with and without opposition-defiant behaviour (ADHD+ODD (n= 22) and ADHD-only (n= 18)), in 9- to 12- year old girls compared to girls without ADHD (n= 40). Girls played a computer game involving simulated players, and mothers and teachers completed rating scales. In general, mothers and teachers saw gi...