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Marital Satisfaction And Conflict: A Cross Cultural Comparison Between China And Australia, Lauren Gabelich Jan 2012

Marital Satisfaction And Conflict: A Cross Cultural Comparison Between China And Australia, Lauren Gabelich

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

The levels of marital satisfaction and how these were predicted by scores on the Romantic Partner Conflict Scale were assessed separately in Australian males (n = 48) and females (n = 100) and Chinese males (n = 321) and females (n = 321). Contrary to expectations, marital satisfaction was higher in the Australian sample than in the Chinese sample. However, there was a culture by gender interaction in which Australian females were much more satisfied than Chinese females. Satisfaction scores for males in both cultures were different, with males being less satisfied than females in the …


Cognition Research Group, Craig Speelman Jan 2012

Cognition Research Group, Craig Speelman

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Towards An Understanding Of The Separation And Mediation Experiences Of Western Australian Fathers: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Carly Mercadante Jan 2012

Towards An Understanding Of The Separation And Mediation Experiences Of Western Australian Fathers: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Carly Mercadante

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

The process of marriage breakdown can be one of the most painful experiences in life (Qu, 2004). The person who initiates the separation is more likely to experience more positive post divorce adjustment than the non-initiator (Wang & Amato, 2000) and is likely to undertake preparation for separation. In Australia, only 32% of men initiated separation in 2003 (Hewitt, Western & Baxter, 2006), it is possible then, that many separated men are ill prepared for mediation. The 2006 Amendments the Family Law Act presumes shared parental responsibility of children and requires that former partners make a genuine attempt to resolve …


Bullying That Follows You Home And Further: What Can Be Done To Protect Children?, Donna S. Cross Jan 2012

Bullying That Follows You Home And Further: What Can Be Done To Protect Children?, Donna S. Cross

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Leadership: Possibilities For The Directing Process, Gabrielle Metcalf Jan 2012

Leadership: Possibilities For The Directing Process, Gabrielle Metcalf

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Spatial Justice: A Call To Spatial Practice, Tina Askam Jan 2012

Spatial Justice: A Call To Spatial Practice, Tina Askam

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Biological Children Of Foster Carers. Are They Being Heard?, Anna Targowska, Susan Teather Jan 2012

Biological Children Of Foster Carers. Are They Being Heard?, Anna Targowska, Susan Teather

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Moving In And Moving On: Lessons Learnt From Programmes For Migrant And Humanitarian Entrant Women And Their Children In Western Australia, Anna Targowska, Andrew Guilfoyle, Susan Teather, Liza Beinart Jan 2012

Moving In And Moving On: Lessons Learnt From Programmes For Migrant And Humanitarian Entrant Women And Their Children In Western Australia, Anna Targowska, Andrew Guilfoyle, Susan Teather, Liza Beinart

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Lifespan Resilience Research Group (Lrrg), Julie Ann Pooley, Myra Taylor, Bronwyn Harman, Craig Harms Jan 2012

Lifespan Resilience Research Group (Lrrg), Julie Ann Pooley, Myra Taylor, Bronwyn Harman, Craig Harms

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Suicide Gatekeeper Training For Mental Health Professionals And Paraprofessionals As A Community Based Prevention Strategy, Andrew Guilfoyle Jan 2012

Suicide Gatekeeper Training For Mental Health Professionals And Paraprofessionals As A Community Based Prevention Strategy, Andrew Guilfoyle

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Letter And Number Reversals – Identifying The Problem, Janet Richmond Jan 2012

Letter And Number Reversals – Identifying The Problem, Janet Richmond

ECU Posters

Letter and number orientation affects legibility


Spire: Social Program Innovation Research And Evaluation, Trudi Cooper Jan 2012

Spire: Social Program Innovation Research And Evaluation, Trudi Cooper

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Psychopathology Research Group, Rodrigo Becerra Jan 2012

Psychopathology Research Group, Rodrigo Becerra

ECU Research Week

No abstract provided.


Evaluating The Psychometric Properties Of The Attitudes Towards Depression And Its Treatments Scale In An Australian Sample, Fadia Isaac, Kenneth Greenwood, Mirella Di Benedetto Jan 2012

Evaluating The Psychometric Properties Of The Attitudes Towards Depression And Its Treatments Scale In An Australian Sample, Fadia Isaac, Kenneth Greenwood, Mirella Di Benedetto

Research outputs 2012

Background: Individuals’ attitudes towards depression and its treatments may influence their likelihood of seeking professional help and adherence to treatment when depressed. Objective measures, such as the Attitudes Towards Depression and its Treatments scale (ATDT), have been developed to assess such attitudes. The aims of this research were to test the reliability and validity of ATDT on an Australian sample who were not depressed during the study or who had previously been depressed, to explore the attitudes of the Australian public towards depression, and to compare these attitudes to those of a Canadian sample of people with depression. Methods: A …


Lobbying For Endorsement Of Community Psychology In Australia, Lynne Cohen, Julie Dean, Heather Gridley, Rebecca Hogea, Ken Robinson, Emma Sampson, Anne Sibbel, Colleen Turner Jan 2012

Lobbying For Endorsement Of Community Psychology In Australia, Lynne Cohen, Julie Dean, Heather Gridley, Rebecca Hogea, Ken Robinson, Emma Sampson, Anne Sibbel, Colleen Turner

Research outputs 2012

In November 2010, the areas of practice known as community psychology and health psychology were endorsed by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council (AHWMC). This was a major reversal of the Council’s earlier decision in April that year to limit the endorsed areas of practice to those represented by the other seven Colleges of the Australian Psychological Society. This paper describes the intense lobbying effort coordinated by the National Committee of the Australian Psychological Society College of Community Psychologists and their supporters, which was sustained over many months and led ultimately to a changed decision by the Australian Health Ministers. …


The Development Of An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda At Ngala: An Innovative Case Study, E Bennett, Y Hauck, S Bindahneem, Vicki Banham, M Owens, L E Priddis, G Wells, W Sinclair, L Shields Jan 2012

The Development Of An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda At Ngala: An Innovative Case Study, E Bennett, Y Hauck, S Bindahneem, Vicki Banham, M Owens, L E Priddis, G Wells, W Sinclair, L Shields

Research outputs 2012

Background Ngala is an early parenting, not-for-profit organisation in Western Australia (WA). Research academics from three universities in Perth had been involved in separate research activities over recent years at Ngala. During 2007, a strategic decision was made to forge formal links and articulate an interdisciplinary research framework to promote a research culture amongst Ngala practitioners. Aim To describe an organisational case study of the development of an interdisciplinary research agenda within Ngala. Methods Collaborative methods were used. An action learning project was undertaken over a two-year period with the involvement of researchers, managers and practitioners across the five disciplines …


It's A Just A Different Way Of Cooking: Social Learning And Aboriginal Father And Son Attachment Within The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Catch And Cook Event, Andrew Guilfoyle Jan 2012

It's A Just A Different Way Of Cooking: Social Learning And Aboriginal Father And Son Attachment Within The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Catch And Cook Event, Andrew Guilfoyle

Research outputs 2012

No abstract provided.


Evaluation Of The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parenting Support Program: Progress Report 1, Andrew Guilfoyle Jan 2012

Evaluation Of The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parenting Support Program: Progress Report 1, Andrew Guilfoyle

Research outputs 2012

This is the first progress report of the local evaluation of the Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Program (IPS). The evaluative report extends the Participatory Action Research (PAR) based evaluation plan (Guilfoyle, Baker, & Bray, 2011). It includes a theoretical discussion on resilience building, community development, and the role of parenting support for early child development, through links to literature and direct evidence captured through community based observations, notes, and recorded interviews with IPS workers, community members, and key stakeholders on the communities and in Broome, and case studies. The evaluation assessed IPS activities in light of its policy framework …


Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim Jan 2012

Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are expected to act ethically and provide moral role models in performing their duties, even though teacher education has often relegated the cultivation of teachers’ ethical awareness and moral development to the margins. When it is addressed, the main theoretical assumptions have relied heavily on the cognitivist developmental theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. A major pedagogical problem in adopting these theories of moral reasoning is that they may not help teachers to act as moral agents in real-life classrooms. This paper argues that one underlying difficulty is the insufficient attention given to the role of emotion in moral reasoning, …


Acquisition Of Mathematical Skills: A Test Of The Effectiveness Of A Computer Maths Game, Eibhlish O’Hara Jan 2012

Acquisition Of Mathematical Skills: A Test Of The Effectiveness Of A Computer Maths Game, Eibhlish O’Hara

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

The mathematical skills of primary school students in Australia are not at the level they could be. In order to find a solution to this issue, different theories of skill acquisition were reviewed and the effectiveness of a computer maths game based on the psychological principles of learning identified by the Component Theory of Skill Acquisition was investigated. The participants of the study consisted of 218 year three students from four primary schools in Western Australia. It was hypothesised that participants using the experimental computer game would demonstrate greater improvement in maths skills than the participants in the other conditions. …


Counsellors’ Perceptions Of Counselling Western Australian Drug Court Clients, Katherine Carroll Jan 2012

Counsellors’ Perceptions Of Counselling Western Australian Drug Court Clients, Katherine Carroll

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

The Drug Court of Western Australia provides treatment and diversionary options to offenders whose addiction to drugs and/or alcohol has played a part in their offending. There are concerns regarding the potential impacts on the therapeutic relationship when counselling a court-referred client and whether or not court-mandated counselling is effective in assisting clients to address their drug use and offending behaviour. Ten counsellors of drug court referred clients were interviewed to identify the counsellors’ perceptions of drug court referred clients and the potential impact on the therapeutic relationship and effectiveness of counselling. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis …


Burundian Refugee Mothers’ Experiences Of Their Children’S School Readiness, And The Role Of Supported Playgroups, Rebecca New Jan 2012

Burundian Refugee Mothers’ Experiences Of Their Children’S School Readiness, And The Role Of Supported Playgroups, Rebecca New

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

Parenting issues have been found to be some of the most challenging issues facing refugee parents in Australia, particularly in regards to their children’s education. To date, minimal research has considered the experiences of refugee parents from specific cultural groups in relation to their children’s school readiness and transition to kindergarten. Furthermore, there is a gap in research exploring how supported playgroups can assist refugee parents throughout these experiences. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to explore the meaning Burundian refugee mothers in supported playgroups ascribe to their experiences of children’s school readiness and transition to kindergarten. A …


Conceptualising Female Perpetrated Violence Towards Intimate Male Partners: A Delphi Study Of Expert’S Views, Sarah Moate Jan 2012

Conceptualising Female Perpetrated Violence Towards Intimate Male Partners: A Delphi Study Of Expert’S Views, Sarah Moate

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

Despite increased acknowledgement that males as well as females can be victims of intimate partner violence, compared to the extensive literature on male perpetrators of intimate partner abuse, the literature on female perpetrated violence towards male partners is exceptionally scarce (Dutton, Nicholls & Spidel, 2005). What is evident from the research that does exist, is that there is a lack of discussion and consensus in regards to the causal explanations specific to this type of female violence. The present study aimed to address this by exploring the ways in which local experts in the field of family and domestic violence …


Maternal Humanitarian Entrants “Me Time”: The Ways Social Support Works In A Facilitated Playgroup, Annmarie La Rosa Jan 2012

Maternal Humanitarian Entrants “Me Time”: The Ways Social Support Works In A Facilitated Playgroup, Annmarie La Rosa

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

This study explored how maternal humanitarian entrants (MHE) ascribe meanings to the ways social support works in a facilitated playgroup context. The secondary research question addressed the extent to which accounts of playgroup support could be explained by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (BEST). A focus group followed by case study and follow-up interviews provided the women, staff and stakeholders the opportunity to share their narratives. Rich descriptions of their "lived" experience were central to the research purpose. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to validate the ascribed meanings of ways social support manifested in the playgroup. The role of BEST contributed …


Cognitive And Affective Correlates Of Theory Of Mind As Influenced By Task Modality, April Kane Jan 2012

Cognitive And Affective Correlates Of Theory Of Mind As Influenced By Task Modality, April Kane

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

This study investigated whether task modality influenced performance on affective and cognitive theory of mind (ToM) tasks. The sample comprised 56 “healthy” adults, including 26 males and 30 females, whose ages ranged from 19 to 59 years. Participants completed four ToM tasks, two of which were designed to assess the affective ToM process, two the cognitive ToM process. One task for each process was a visual task, whilst the second was an audio task, thereby assessing the influence of task modality. Task data was analysed to obtain correlation coefficients, which were compared. The correlations for the affective and cognitive processes …


Pet Loss And The Elderly, Daphne D’Gama Jan 2012

Pet Loss And The Elderly, Daphne D’Gama

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

Companion animals are known to provide numerous psychosocial benefits to their owners. It is due to these prominent and positive contributions that individuals develop a deep attachment with their pet. Consequently pet owners experience intense grief reactions following the death of a cherished pet. While numerous studies have focused on the experiences for children and young adults, the experience of pet loss for the elderly remains relatively unexplored. An in-depth qualitative research design guided by a phenomenological framework was used to explore the experiences surrounding pet loss for the elderly. Data was collected though one-on-one semi-structured interviews with thirteen participants …


Improving Memory Through N-Back Training, Paul Beavon Jan 2012

Improving Memory Through N-Back Training, Paul Beavon

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

Jaeggi and colleagues have claimed that fluid intelligence may be improved through a cognitive training regime utilising the n-back task; maintaining that the improvement in Gf is realised through melioration in working memory (WM). To date there has been no evidence to support this assertion, however Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, and Perrig (2008) obtained a significant improvement in short term memory (STM). The current study examined the near transfer mechanisms of the single n-back task; specifically STM and WM as operationalised through the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Forty-seven participants were divided into experimental (n = 26) …


Coping Styles And Levels Of Depression, Anxiety And Stress Among Siblings Of Alcohol And Other Drug Users, Nadia Zaccaria Jan 2012

Coping Styles And Levels Of Depression, Anxiety And Stress Among Siblings Of Alcohol And Other Drug Users, Nadia Zaccaria

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

This study examined the coping style adopted (tolerate, engage and withdraw) and levels of depression, anxiety and stress among those negatively affected by their sibling’s AOD use. In total, 164 participants who were first year psychology students at Edith Cowan University, Joondalup were included in the study. Of these, 78 (47.6%) were male and 86 (52.4%) were female. Through the assistance of a psychology lecturer, participants were recruited during a first year psychology lecture at Edith Cowan University, Joondalup. Participation was voluntary and each participant was provided with an information letter and a copy of the questionnaire. All participants ( …


Working The Companion Animal In The Context Of New Interpersonal Relationships, Steven Remic Jan 2012

Working The Companion Animal In The Context Of New Interpersonal Relationships, Steven Remic

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

Companion animals are found in the majority of western households. In surveys it has been found that companion animals are often viewed as family members. There is debate in psychological literature on what people mean when they describe companion animals in familial terms, with three theoretical frameworks posited to help explain the pets-as-family phenomena. Attachment theorists suggest that pets meet all four criteria for psychological attachment. Other researchers have suggested that companion animals are positioned within family systems, and are part of the dynamic interplay between human family members. Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that companion animals take advantage of in-built …


Pathways To Care : The Experience Of New Mother’S Perinatal Mental Health In Rural Areas, Belinda Butler-O’Halloran Jan 2012

Pathways To Care : The Experience Of New Mother’S Perinatal Mental Health In Rural Areas, Belinda Butler-O’Halloran

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

This qualitative study sought to explore the lived experience of new mothers in rural areas. Specifically the experience of the women’s perinatal mental health was studied to understand the type of care they required in the early stages of motherhood. Findings indicate the women were unprepared for the difficulties of new motherhood which was isolating and lacking in support. New mothers found little help from the health care professionals such as GPs, CHN and Midwives due to professional time constraints and inability to develop a relationship. In addition new mothers were uncertain how unwell they needed to be before seeking …