Our proposed project is primarily centred on the research topic of diversion away from the criminal justice system. Specifically, we will chart the developmental interplay between person-centred clusters of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and violent offending (assault and use of a weapon) during adolescence. In doing this we hope to identify which clusters of ACEs are most salient for subsequent violent offending. We will also investigate whether these differ for marginalised groups.

Substance use (SU) by young people (YP; YPSU) can lead to short- and long-term harms. Although YPSU has been falling over the past 20 years in the UK, evidence suggests that it is now increasing again among some groups. Studies suggest that these changes may depend on where YP live, how they socialise, the health/social challenges that they face, and the ways in which they access and use substances.

This project is part of a larger study that is working with YP and other experts to understand in what ways and for which groups of YP SU is changing. We are developing and testing new theories to help us understand the most important factors that underpin these increases. Some factors relate to individuals, including mental health or experiences of the care system; others will relate to wider contexts such as communities, policy, and youth culture, including how drug markets have changed, changes in leisure and recreation, or shifts in attitudes towards SU; and others depend on the interactions between all of these.

In this project we will first examine whether there is evidence that YP may be using drugs to help cope with mental health problems. We will then explore whether YP who use alcohol and have mental health problems have worse outcomes if they also use drugs such as cannabis.

One quarter of the world’s population is affected by a mental or neurological disorder at some point in their life (WHO, 2001), and depression alone is predicted to be the leading burden of disease globally by 2030 (Malhi & Mann, 2018). These disorders typically manifest early in life, with 74% of diagnoses first occurring under the age of 18 years, and 50% before 15 years (Kim-Cohen et al., 2003). Understanding risk and protective factors underlying mental ill-health, and how these might develop over time, is crucial for the creation of effective prevention and intervention.

As children mature into adolescents, they increasingly interact with, and become more sensitive to evaluation and rejection by peers. Increased sensitivity to social rejection during this period has been associated with decreased mental health (Gao et al., 2017), while the opposite has been found for increased social support (van Harmelen et al., 2017). The environment in which these interactions occur is also changing, with adolescents spending an average of 6 hours each day online, the majority of which is spent on social media sites (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Exploring these effects cross-sectionally, we found that increased social rejection sensitivity and decreased perceived social support were associated with increased negative mood in adolescents (11-24 years; Grunewald, Deng, Wertz & Schweizer, Under review), and now seek to further investigate these effects longitudinally.

Maternal antenatal anxiety, depression, and stress increase the risk for socioemotional and behavioral problems in childhood, effects which persist into early adulthood (O’Donnell et. al, 2014; Pearson et. al, 2013; Robinson et. al, 2008). These findings are consistent with the fetal origins of mental health hypothesis, which posits that exposures in utero contribute to individual differences in mental health outcomes across the lifespan (O’Donnell, Meaney, 2017).

While the association between antenatal maternal wellbeing and child development is well-established, much less is known about the multi-generational impact of antenatal maternal wellbeing on child health and development. Existing findings from multigenerational studies focus on birth weight (Lahti-Pulkkinen et. al, 2018; Drake et. al, 2015), and antenatal lead (Sen et. al, 2015) or diethylstilbestrol exposure (Kioumourtzoglou et. al, 2018)​​. Interestingly, mouse models have shown the multi-generational effects of stress or dietary manipulations on molecular characteristics of the offspring across multiple generations (Ward et. al, 2013; Radford et. al, 2014; Jawaid, Roszkowski, Mansuy, 2018).

In this proposal, we examine multi-generational effects of maternal well-being (encompassing mental and physical health) in an index pregnancy across 2 or more generations. Our analysis framework will consider important confounds including maternal and child genetic variation and will examine candidate biological processes for the transmission of risk e.g. variation in DNA methylation.

Colour blindness (CVD) is a congenital condition affecting 8% of men (0.4% of women). Depending on type and severity, affected individuals have significant difficulties discriminating a wide range of colours facing wide-ranging challenges on a day-to-day basis (e.g. interpreting colour-coded information at the workplace or recreational environments). A growing impact is expected in educational settings due to an increasing reliance on colour resources in schools. Unfortunately, a study using a birth cohort from 1958 (Cumberland et al, 2004) has reported a lack of impact of colour blindness on Maths and reading ability but fails to account for the increase in colour in classrooms in recent years. Regrettably the publication led to the cessation of CVD school screening in 2009, preventing children from accessing more appropriate resources.
In contrast, a number of authors have argued that CVD can increase difficulties experienced in a range of school subjects including Sciences, Maths, Art, PE and Geography as such subjects may use colour to explain concepts, give instructions and require it in problem solving tasks. Alongside any academic implications, CVD has been found to have an effect on social, psychological and emotional outcomes. For example CVD children may experience teasing from classmates.
We here propose to investigate the potential impacts of CVD on education and emotional outcomes in a more recent cohort.

Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with unfavorable health behaviours, somatic and psychological complaints in pregnancy. Beyond pregnancy experiences, a large body of research highlights intergenerational effects of maternal history of early trauma on their offspring. Given the growing interest on early adversity consequences during the perinatal phase, we aim to examine the associations between traumatic childhood events and pregnancy health behaviour, psychological symptoms, birth outcomes, sociodemographics and breastfeeding. For this we intend to include mother-infant pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Adverse childhood events consist of abuse (e.g. emotional, physical and sexual), neglect, (e.g. emotional and physical) and household dysfunction (e.g. parental mental illness, divorce or incarceration). We measure pregnancy health behaviour (e.g. exercise, smoking, alcohol, BMI), psychological symptoms (e.g. anxiety and depressive symptoms), sociodemographics (e.g. education, social class) and breastfeeding (e.g.initiation and duration).

This project looks at methods used in research on human epigenetics, particularly around uses of
sociological and psychological data in devising research questions.

All paperwork stored in relevant B number folder

Depression is one of the most important risk factors for suicide. Almost 60% of people who die by suicide experienced depression at some point in their life. Yet, it remains unclear why only certain people with depression eventually become suicidal. Recent evidence suggests there are sensitive periods in development when life experiences, such as depression, can have stronger effects on mental illness. It is also well documented that suicidality results from both life experiences and genetic risk.
However, most studies of genetic risk for suicide, depression, and subsequent suicidal suicidality focus on people measured at a single timepoint. This limitation prevents us from 1) identifying people who are at the highest risk for future suicidal behaviours and 2) developing timely and effective interventions that prevent suicide in people with depression. As such, this project will use longitudinal data from two birth studies to determine when and how genetic risk and experiences of depression during childhood and adolescence influence suicide risk in early adulthood.
First, we will identify the specific ages and patterns of depression during childhood and adolescence that most predispose young adults to suicide. These results will help us build and implement interventions that are positioned at the best possible time to prevent suicide risk among youth affected by depression.
Second, we will determine whether children and adolescents with increased genetic risk for suicide or mental illness are more likely to become suicidal after experiencing depression at specific ages. These findings will improve our ability to identify youth who are at greater risk for suicide and provide insight into the genetic pathways leading to suicide.
Third, we will identify biological mechanisms that explain the link between depression and suicide. We will focus on epigenetic changes, as they are linked to human health and are thought to reflect both life experiences and genetics. Thus, they may represent a biological pathway through which suicide risk can become “molecularly programmed”. Identifying epigenetic changes that link depression to suicide risk will help guide the development of biomarkers that will allow us to identify at-risk youth quickly and effectively.
In sum, this project will highlight key periods and biological targets that can be used to predict and prevent suicidality among childhood and adolescents who experience depression. These will ultimately catalyse better interventions that prevent suicide in young adults.

I am interested in the ways in which eating disorders were being discussed (both popularly and amongst academics/practitioners) and researched in the late 20th/early 21st century. I’m especially interested in ALSPAC because of the specific interest in the impact on eating disorders on maternity (a relatively unusual approach at the time.) I am only interested in material on the eating disorder research components of ALSPAC