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Literature Review: The literature suggests that many adolescents with sexual offence histories (AWSOHs) have experienced adversity in their childhood which significantly impacted their psychosocial development. This review sought to systematically appraise the literature of 3 major data bases to explore to what extent maladaptive psychosocial development mediates the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and sexual offending in adolescents. Studies that met criteria were assessed for quality, summarised and critically evaluated; 10 papers were included for the final review. Three key findings were that emotion dysregulation (anxiety and depression), attachment (insecure) and development of offence themed fantasies mediate the relationship between childhood adversity and sexual offending in adolescence. Some papers were able to demonstrate whether and to what extent these variables mediate the relationship. Due to the methodological weaknesses of some studies, however, it is unclear how and to what extent the factors discussed in their papers mediate the relationship. The authors of the studies make suggestions for how the link could be mediated; these are evaluated in this review. The findings are discussed in the context of attachment theory and the stages of psychosocial development. The review is consistent with previous literature proposing etiological causes for sexual offending and pathways to offending. Implications for clinical practice include considerations for risk assessment, preventative measures in school and health environments and treatment options for adolescents. Future directions could include completing a qualitative review to add to this quantitative review and improving on previous methodology to make firmer conclusions. Empirical Paper: The evidence base suggests many persons with sexual offence histories (PWSOHs) have experienced adversity in their childhood. This study sought to explore the narratives of these individuals and how they believe adversity impacted on their offending behaviour. 12 men in the community who had childhood adversity, a sexual offence history and treatment within the prison and probation service volunteered to share their story. Key narratives elicited included: experiences of relationships, the absence of gendered socialisation, the internal struggle, the problem with current treatment and wider attitudes and moral issues. This analysis provides support for the developmental psychopathological perspective that suggests adversity and trauma directly impacts psychosocial and psychosexual development, creating a catalyst for later offending behaviour. Clinical implications include a need for change in societal attitudes to improve access to preventative support for at risk individuals, improved 1:1 therapy access for PWSOHs and a need for a trauma informed approach in prisons and probation. Strengths, limitations and future directions are considered. Future directions include conducting similar interviews in a prison population to explore contrasts and comparisons to the narratives from this study.

Paper One: Background and aims. Social participation is a key determinant for health and wellbeing across the lifespan, and is a frequent goal for rehabilitation. Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide that can result in persistent difficulties within cognitive, emotional, behavioural, physical, and social domains that contribute to chronic disability and restricted participation. Consequently, survivors are at higher risk of social isolation and reduced quality of life (QoL). The social participatory goals of rehabilitation are increasingly advocated for to support QoL and minimise disability post-ABI. The aim of this review was to explore the efficacy of interventions that facilitate social participation on outcomes of social participation and QoL in adult survivors of ABI. The synthesis of available evidence might support rehabilitation professionals to consider how to improve such outcomes in post-acute settings. Methods. A systematic review was conducted to locate, appraise, and synthesise evidence relating to the review questions. Appropriate intervention studies were identified using a pre-determined search strategy. These were then assessed for inclusion against pre-defined eligibility criteria to investigate the efficacy of their interventions on the target outcomes for this review, social participation and QoL. Results. Of the 1119 possible articles identified in the initial search, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Data were then extracted and methodologies were critically appraised. Intervention programmes were grouped according to intervention methods, and included peer-mentoring, community integration, leisure activities, outpatient neuropsychological rehabilitation, intensive cognitive rehabilitation, and health-promotion. Seven of the 12 studies found statistically significant differences on at least one target outcome following intervention. Four of these identified efficacy on both social participation and QoL, and varied in methodological design and quality. Conclusion. Currently, there is limited evidence for the efficacy of interventions that facilitate social participation on outcomes of social participation and QoL for adults with ABI. The varying objectives, quality, and potential bias of the 12 included studies limits the conclusions that can be drawn. Social participatory interventions appear to have objective and subjective benefits for adults post-ABI. Appropriate intervention methods (i.e., delivery and focus) to support target outcomes is uncertain from the limited literature included in this review. However, interventions that showed efficacy on both target outcomes (four of the 12) were multifaceted and intensive. Rehabilitation of social participation to support social participation and QoL post-ABI may benefit from supporting participants to develop the skills and self-belief needed to actively participate in social activities that are important to them, however, further evidence is needed. Considerations for future research and clinical implications are outlined. Paper Two: Background and aims. Adolescence is a time for significant social development, facilitated by successful peer relationships. Those with reduced social skills are at risk of being rejected or victimised by peers, and can face significant emotional ramifications and implications for quality of life (QoL). Peer relationships for adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI) have been largely under-recognised in the paediatric neuropsychology literature. Previous interventions aiming to improve social skills (needed for peer relationships) in this population have shown inconsistent efficacy and the targets for intervention are unclear. The intervention mapping (IM) framework offers a systematic and iterative protocol for the co-production of interventions through engagement with key stakeholders. This consists of six steps for intervention design, implementation, and evaluation: (1) creating a logic model of the target problem; (2) stating programme objectives; (3) programme design; (4) programme production; (5) implementation plan; and (6) evaluation plan. This study aimed to: (a) develop a collaborative understanding of peer relationship difficulties for adolescents with ABI; and (b) seek the views of adolescents and other key stakeholders on what might be required to improve peer relationships post-ABI, and what intervention the goals might be. Qualitative methodology was used to support these aims. The findings of this study can inform the co-development of a meaningful intervention to support peer relationships and QoL in adolescents with ABI using the IM protocol in future research. Method. Consistent with IM protocol, a planning group comprising four ABI clinical-researchers provided consultation at each stage of the study. First, the planning group completed a survey to develop an initial logic model. This is a framework for understanding peer relationship difficulties following ABI, the determinants (or contributing factors) for these, and the long-term impact on QoL for adolescents. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were then conducted with four stakeholder groups to develop an in-depth understanding of peer relationship difficulties post-ABI, the impact of these, and the determinants contributing to such difficulties, and to further develop the initial logic model: (1) adolescents with ABI (n=4); (2) parents of adolescents with ABI (n=7); (3) adults who sustained an ABI in adolescence (n=2); and (4) specialist practitioners (n=3). Perspectives were also obtained from stakeholders concerning what might need to change to support peer relationships post-ABI and what the targets for intervention might be. Qualitative data from focus groups and interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results. The analysis of stakeholder conversations yielded 11 themes, grouped into two domains: (1) understanding peer relationship difficulties (e.g., dropped and excluded, a need to belong, restricted independence); and (2) supporting peer relationships (e.g., building understanding, meaningful social connection). The logic model underwent six iterations following planning group and stakeholder feedback. This was provided by stakeholders in the focus groups and interviews, and by planning group members and stakeholders through further member-checking procedures following the analysis. Conclusions. Adolescents with ABI were reported to experience difficulties with peer relationships. At an important time for social development, peer rejection can increase feelings of isolation, loneliness, shame, and hopelessness. This can have further implications for mental health, peer relationships, and QoL. The individual, psychological, behavioural, and environmental determinants for peer relationship difficulties are broad. A meaningful intervention would need to be multifaceted attempting to build understanding in others, facilitate meaningful social opportunities, offer early support post-injury, and help manage psychological wellbeing. A primary focus would be to empower adolescents post-ABI. The presented logic model provides a robust understanding of peer relationship difficulties for adolescents with ABI that can be used to guide intervention development in future research.

Measuring adolescent mental health in general population samples is vital to estimating prevalence, understanding risk, and assessing intervention. Clinically rated methods suffer from ontological and reliability problems, and parent and teacher ratings typically have poor convergence with young people's self-reports. Self-reports also provide direct access to thoughts and feelings, and there are increasing calls to hear directly from young people. Despite a clear need for robust approaches to self-reported mental health in adolescence, psychometric development standards have tended to be poor. The current thesis aimed to provide insight into more robust approaches to measuring general mental health via four papers, including secondary analysis of various datasets from the HeadStart project. Paper 1 considered the construct-level relationship between symptom and wellbeing domains. Internalizing symptoms showed equally strong relationships to wellbeing and externalizing problems, and there was also evidence for a general internalizing distress factor. Paper 2 explored indicator-level interactions over three years between internalizing symptoms, wellbeing indicators and psychosocial correlates via a multiverse framework. The multiverse framework demonstrated that the importance of indicators in the network was often sensitive to particular item operationalizations, though a few key indicators were consistently important. Paper 3 examined the age appropriateness of the commonly used self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Items were generally found to have inappropriate reading ages and be of low quality, while measurement invariance analysis suggested the measure functioned comparably across younger and older adolescents. Paper 4 is a meta-review of self-report general mental health measures. Content and psychometrics were analyzed. A relatively narrow range of indicators was found across constructs within mental health but measures were generally not interchangeable and had low psychometric quality. The current thesis represents a major step forward for the theoretical and empirical understanding of general mental health. Findings suggest emotionally-focused indicators, including happiness and worry, could be particularly important when examining prevalence, risk factors, or intervention response, though more work is needed to confirm indicators with young people. The thesis also highlights a broader need to develop new measures.

Systematic Review of the Literature: Background: The under-recognition of depression in adolescents suggests that a better understanding of its presentation may be needed. Conceptualisations of adolescent depression are largely the same as adult depression, with minimal consideration of developmental stage. Exploration of first-hand accounts could help to identify any unique features of adolescent depression. Therefore, this review aimed to gain an understanding of the lived experience of adolescents with depression to inform clinical practice. Method: A systematic review was performed to identify qualitative studies on first-hand experiences of adolescent depression. Methodological quality of included papers was assessed and key data was extracted. Meta-aggregation was the method of synthesis, whereby extracted themes from the papers were grouped according to shared meanings. Results: Fifteen studies were identified for inclusion. Aggregation of 56 themes resulted in 16 categories and three synthesised findings encompassing key aspects of adolescent depression: causes, symptoms and coping. Conclusions: Individual differences were evident in adolescents' perspectives on causes, symptoms and coping in the context of depression, thus detailed assessment by practitioners is indicated. It is noteworthy that adolescents reported some experiences, such as social disconnection and anger, that are not captured by current diagnostic criteria. Practitioners should be aware of the potential differences in presentation of adolescent and adult depression. Service Improvement Project: Background: Existing literature implies there may be gaps in post-treatment support for young people with cancer. This service improvement project aimed to understand the needs and experiences of young people when ending active cancer treatment in a UK children's hospital. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine young people, aged 13 -18 years, who had finished cancer treatment and were receiving follow-up care. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes were developed: being in the dark; separation from the hospital; consequences of cancer; and getting back to normal life. Discussion: Young people faced varying physical, psychological and social challenges when adjusting to life after cancer treatment. There is a need for a consistent approach to assessing young people's biopsychosocial needs at the end of treatment, with subsequent provision of individualised support. Theoretically Driven Research Project: Objective: Depression often arises during adolescence. Social media forms a significant part of adolescents' lives, yet its impact on depression is unclear. We aimed to develop a questionnaire assessing positive and negative ways of using social media in order to understand the potential role of social media in adolescent depression. Method: 1140 adolescents (including 569 with depression) aged 11-18 (Mage = 16.3 years; 62.2% female; 82.5% White) completed the original item pool. Factor analyses were conducted to derive the Social Media Scale (SMS). SMS scores were compared in adolescents with and without depression. Results: The 45-item, nine-factor, SMS, had an acceptable model fit and adequate internal consistency (α = .70 to .92). There was no significant difference between groups in factor scores for 'Pleasure' and 'Connecting with others'. However, factor scores were higher (p < .001) in the depressed group with large effect sizes for 'Social comparison' and 'Passing time', medium effect sizes for 'Impression management', 'Hostility towards others' and 'Hostility from others', and small effect sizes for 'Fear of social exclusion' and 'Seeking support'. Conclusions: The SMS may be a useful tool to assess motivations, behaviours, thoughts, and experiences related to social media use. Positive aspects of social media use were no less common among adolescents with depression than adolescents without depression. Yet, negative aspects of social media use were more common among adolescents with depression, with the largest differences for social comparison and using social media to pass time. These may be specific targets for future psychological interventions.

Adolescence, the transitional period from childhood to adulthood, is characterised by developmental tasks including an increased prominence of peer relationships, and the development of autonomy and identity. Despite a lack of consensus regarding its exact definition, many of the developmental processes which demarcate adolescence extend into the mid-20s, suggesting adolescence be defined as those aged 10 to 25 years old. In addition to normative developmental tasks, adolescents who experience chronic pain can face a range of additional developmental challenges. To address the lack of a comprehensive review, I conducted a scoping review of the literature covering the social developmental domains of autonomy, identity, and peer relationships in adolescents who experience chronic pain. This review identified 42 papers, the majority of which explore peer relationships, with fewer exploring autonomy or identity. Across all domains, there was a lack of detailed exploration, with many papers studying social development more broadly. Additionally, there was a dominance of cross-sectional and quantitative methods across all included papers. I addressed these literature gaps through two empirical studies, which together provide an idiographic exploration of the social development of adolescents who have chronic pain over time, and their perceptions of their future. The first of these was a longitudinal, qualitative study which used a combination of interviews and diaries to explore the experiences and perspectives of adolescents who experience chronic pain in relation to their social development, over the course of 12 months. The second empirical study used a novel first person, future focused story completion method to explore the future narratives of adolescents who have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Collectively, my results suggest that developmental trajectories are altered in the context of chronic pain. Additionally, my results suggest that such alterations involve both constriction and expansion of developmental processes, with the expansions appearing to be driven by the constrictions. The specific impact of the altered developmental trajectories varies between individuals, and also across developmental domains within individuals. These findings have important implications for future research and clinical practice, suggesting the importance of consideration of the relationship between clinical and developmental outcomes.

The overarching goal of this thesis was to examine sibling relationship quality in young twin children, as well as the ways in which this key bond is associated with other familial relationships within the home environment. The three articles included were part of a longitudinal and multi-method study, run by myself and my colleague - the Twins, Family and Behaviour study. Accounts were collected from 282 mothers and 132 fathers of twins, over a two-year time period. Parents completed postal questionnaires and a telephone interview, and observations via Skype recorded them interacting with each of their children. The research was unique, as it employed a number of novel measures and sophisticated analyses that have not yet been used within a longitudinal twin sample such as this. Results showed that, contrary to expectations, no mean level differences emerged when monozygotic twin pairs, dizygotic twin pairs, and non-twin pairs were compared on their sibling relationship quality (Paper 1). Behavioural genetic modelling also revealed that sibling interactions were mainly influenced by the shared environment, common to both children within the dyad, but also by the genetic propensities of the siblings themselves (Paper 1). Using the innovative Preschool Five Minute Speech Sample interview, we found that mothers who expressed more family-wide positive, and less family-wide negative, emotion towards their children reported more positivity within the sibling relationship – even when controlling for questionnaire measures of the mother-child relationship (Paper 2). Finally, opposing the majority of past literature, cross-lagged tests evidenced that earlier positivity within the sibling bond was predictive of later marital satisfaction, and of positivity within both the mother-child and the father-child bond (Paper 3). The implications of the findings include: the generalisability of studies of twins in childhood to the wider non-twin sibling population (Paper 1); the usefulness of maternal speech sample measures in capturing unique variance in sibling relationship quality (Paper 2); and the impact of affectionate sibling exchanges on entire family systems (Paper 3). Future research would benefit from exploring the nature of the relationship between twin brothers and sisters further, using both younger and older children's reports of their family interactions, within a more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample.

A child's early academic learning experiences take place at home as well as at school. These two ‘overlapping spheres' have unique roles to play for the child, and affect them in different ways. In this thesis, I focus on the child's home life, and mother-child interactions nested within the home, and investigate how individual and dyadic characteristics of child and of mother may have a bearing on the quality of children's academic and non-academic learning experiences at home, and on their experience of school. The first three papers used data from eighty-five families of Year 1 children in South-East England. This data was collected using questionnaire and interview measures and videotaped observations of mother-child interactions during home visits. Paper 1 explores personal and social factors in Year 1 children relating to their self-reported school adjustment. Results from interviews showed that family and home life were important for academic self-concept, but not for school engagement, further reinforcing existing research showing that each distinct environment within the child's microsystem affects their experience of the other. Paper 2 focused on homework: an area of children's formal education outside school. Most homework interaction research uses researcher-set activities; my study tested the validity of this by comparing genuine homework and a researcher-set task. In observations of 85 families of year 1 children, mother's and child's affect during genuine homework did not correlate with their affect during the non-homework tutored task, and were related to different personal and social factors. Taking this further, Paper 3 investigated whether maternal beliefs about education predicted how she scaffolded her child during Year 2 homework. This paper used data from eighty of the families, visited a year after the original visit. Results showed that instruction quality during homework was predicted by mothers' earlier learning attribution beliefs, but not by their attitudes or expectations. Homework is believed to help children refine their self-regulation skills. Paper 4 examined maternal scaffolding interactions through the conceptual lens of ‘transfer of regulation'. Using a different dataset of home visits with seventy-eight families of children aged 8-11, the fine-grained coding method sheds light on aspects of tutored interactions typically missed by traditional scaffolding coding schemes, identifying various aspects of self-regulation and other-regulation, and mapping increases and decreases over the course of the task, thus providing rich information about the interaction quality within each mother-child dyad. In conclusion, both social (transfer of regulation: Paper 4; parenting styles, mother-child relationship: Paper 1) and individual (maternal beliefs and personality: Papers 2 and 3) factors within the home context play a role in the child's learning and school experience – as assessed by academic self-concept, self-regulation, and the positivity and cognitive support received during homework. This thesis further reveals the interlaced nature of home and school, highlighting the value of unpacking the role of the home environment on children's education.

Leading health organisations and long-term athletic development models have identified the need to develop movement competencies in children and adolescents. The athletic motor skill competencies (AMSC) have been identified as key skills that form the foundations of all athletic movements. The AMSC form an integral part of the long-term athletic development of youth, and improving these qualities should be central to coaches working with young individuals. Multiple movement competency screens assess some aspects of AMSC, but there is no consensus regarding which screens may be most appropriate for a given cohort or coaching environment. Chapter 3 provides an evaluation of the movement screens available to assess various AMSC and in turn considers their reliability, feasibility, strengths, and weaknesses when used with youth populations. The resistance training skill battery (RTSB), athletic introductory movement screen (AIMS), and tuck jump assessment (TJA) were all deemed to be useful screens and were subsequently utilised throughout the thesis. In Chapter 5 boys (n = 20) and girls (n = 26) aged 11-14 years old were part of a 7-week resistance training pilot study. The study examinedthe effects of delivering resistance training as part of the physical education curriculum on AMSC, physical performance, and psychosocial constructs (motivation to exercise, physical self-efficacy, and global self-esteem). Male and female intervention groups significantly improved RTSB (p > 0.05) whereas no changes were observed in the control groups. No changes were observed in the intervention groups TJA and only trivial and small non-significant changes in standing long jump performance. Significant increases in motivation of the male intervention group occurred. Resistance training integrated in physical education can improve AMSC in short-term interventions. Chapter 6 examined the relationships between AMSC, maturation, sex, body mass index (BMI), physical performance, and psychological constructs (motivation to exercise, physical self-efficacy, and global self-esteem) in a large cohort of boys (n = 119) and girls (n = 105) aged 11-13 years old. Trivial to moderate strength relationships were evident between AMSC and BMI (boys: rs= −0.183; girls: rs= −0.176), physical performance (boys: rs= 0.425; girls: rs= 0.397), and psychological constructs (boys: rs= 0.130-0.336; girls rs= 0.030-0.260). When the sample was divided into participants demonstrating higher and lower levels of competency (using the median split), higher levels of AMSC were related to significantly higher levels of physical performance (d = 0.25), motivation to exercise (d = 0.17), and physical self-efficacy (d= 0.15-0.19) in both boys and girls. AMSC have some associations with physical performance and psychological constructs. This may suggest that increasing AMSC could positively influence physical and psychological outcomes, but further research was needed to investigate this possibility. Chapter 7 examined the effects of an 11-week resistance training intervention as part of the physical education curriculum on AMSC, physical performance, and psychological constructs linked to physical activity behaviours. Male (n = 40) and female (n = 48) intervention groups significantly improved AIMS(p > 0.05) whereas no changes were observed in the male (n = 33) and female (n = 35) control groups. Both male and female intervention groups significantly improved standing long jump performance in comparison to control groups (p > 0.05). Only trivial changes in TJA and psychological constructs were observed in both groups. Findings indicate resistance trainingintegrated in physical education is effective atimprovingAMSC and physical performance but did not improve psychological constructs in school children. Chapter 8 presents a confessional tale with the primary researcher reflecting on some of the confounding influences to directing a successful intervention and the impact this can have on the researcher. The chapter reflects on experiences faced during the intervention presented in Chapter 6, uncovering some of the home truths about school-based interventions that are usually ignored such as pupil behaviour, teacher support, and implementing research into practice. Overall, this paper provides researchers with insights into the unexpected, and practitioners with suggestions to help navigate their own coaching interventions.

The overarching goal of this thesis was to compare the mother-child relationship and child behaviour across cultures. The three articles in this thesis were part of a multi-method investigation comparing England (an individualistic culture) and Turkey (a collectivistic culture). Accounts from two children and their mothers were obtained from 218 two-parent families in total. Mothers completed questionnaires, children were interviewed using the Berkeley Puppet Interview, and observations recorded during various play tasks. The study was unique as it recorded the perspectives of mothers and young children aged from 4 to 8 in each family across cultures. Results showed that English mothers used more positive methods of discipline with their older children, and reported less conflict with both of their children compared to Turkish mothers. In contrast, English children reported more anger and hostility from their mothers than did their Turkish peers (Paper 1). Cultural differences in maternal values partially explained these differences in positive discipline and anger and hostility (Paper 1). Using structural equation modelling, partial cross-cultural measurement invariance for parenting and child adjustment was revealed (Paper 2), and a stronger association between parenting and child adjustment was found for the English versus Turkish families (Paper 2). Finally, multi-level modelling yielded significant prediction of children's adjustment from both family-wide and child-specific aspects of parenting (Paper 3). The implications of the findings include appreciating different perspectives of parenting when conducting cross-cultural research (Paper 1); the culturally distinct meanings of both parent and child adjustment should be considered when interpreting their association (Paper 2); and that differential parenting within families can also have distinct cultural meaning (Paper 3). Future research would benefit from exploring within-and between-cultural differences in parent-child relationships further, across multiple countries, over time and in larger samples.

Sleep in children is important for the functioning of a range of cognitive processes, including memory, attention, arousal, executive functioning, and the processing of emotional experiences. This, in addition to the high comorbidity between sleep problems and anxiety, may suggest that sleep plays a role in the cognitive and behavioural processes associated with childhood anxiety. Although a body of research exists which considers the associations between sleep problems and anxiety, there is currently little research evidence available for the effect of children's sleepiness on anxiety, or for the effect of childhood sleep problems or sleepiness on anxiety related processes. To address this, this thesis begins with a meta-analysis exploring the efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of childhood anxiety (Paper 1). CBT is generally the treatment of choice for childhood anxiety, and targets the processes that the subsequent papers in this thesis consider in relation to children's sleepiness and sleep problems. Papers two to five consider the effect of sleepiness on a range of cognitive and behavioural processes, including vicariously learning and unlearning fear (Paper 2), ambiguity resolution (Paper 3), emotion recognition (Paper 4), and habituation and avoidance (Paper 5). The final paper considers sleep problems in relation to a CBT intervention for childhood anxiety (Paper 6). Overall, while sleep problems and usual sleepiness were found to be associated with childhood anxiety, current sleepiness was not. On the other hand, sleepiness (usual and current), and reduced sleep, affected children's behavioural processes when exposed to anxiety provoking stimuli, but were not found to affect children's anxietyrelated cognitive processes. Sleep problems interacted with vicarious learning processes, but not with ambiguity resolution or emotion recognition processes, or with change in anxiety symptoms following a CBT intervention for childhood anxiety. Implications for treatment and future research directions are discussed.

Paper one: The attitudes and reasoning of abusive behaviour in adolescents who have been exposed to domestic abuse Exposure to domestic abuse in childhood can go on to negatively affect every aspect of that individual’s life. During adolescence, the impact of exposure to domestic abuse may go beyond the borders of the family and the individual, and affect the development of intimate relationships. This study explores the attitudes and reasoning of eleven young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse and are displaying perpetrator behaviours. Results reveal a complex interaction between experiences and skill deficits at a crucial time of identity formation, resulting in the formation and maintenance of destructive attitudes and contradictory reasoning about abusive behaviour. The direct implications of this study, suggestions for further research, and for Educational Psychology Services are discussed. Paper two: An evaluation of an intervention for adolescents who have been exposed to domestic abuse and are displaying perpetrator behaviours Where domestic violence occurs, children and young people are likely to have been exposed to such abuse. Evidence suggests that this is likely to have a detrimental impact on them. There is an acute gap in provision for such individuals, despite evidence suggesting a link between exposure to domestic abuse in childhood, and involvement in abusive dating relationships in late adolescence and adulthood. There has been little research testing the effectiveness of intervention programmes which aim to reduce this risk. In this study a before and after design was used to evaluate a cognitive-behavioural intervention programme for young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse and are displaying abusive behaviours. This evaluation was based on the views of the young people on this programme. Results indicate that certain elements of the programme were more successful in achieving the programme aims. Considerations for the development of further programmes which target this client group are discussed.

Loneliness in childhood is particularly relevant in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent school closures, reductions in social contact, and increased social isolation. Increased understanding in the conceptualisation of loneliness and the experience across the lifespan, indicate a need for a review of the reliability and validity of loneliness scales, and greater understanding of childhood loneliness directly. A systematic literature review (SLR) sought to investigate the robustness of development procedures in the three most used loneliness measures with youth. Subsequent studies exploring psychometric properties of these scales, published between 1978 and 2019, were identified using a PRISMA framework and an additional bespoke framework was used to explore subsequent reliability and validity with youth. With the absence of child view in development procedures of each measure, interviews with primary aged children were carried out to explore their experiences and understanding of loneliness first-hand. The SLR identified key stages of measure development absent in the generation of each loneliness measure. Subsequent papers demonstrating psychometric properties with youth, highlighted inconsistent item and response categories, reliability and validity. The qualitative exploration of child views highlighted that childhood experiences align somewhat with the existing literature, whilst key themes relating to solutions and play are absent. Implications for future practice are discussed, including the need for further review of loneliness measurement in youth, and exploration of child views. Implications for practitioners, intervention, and researchers are discussed. A dissemination strategy to increase the impact of this research is outlined, considering central stakeholders.

Background Research regarding the development of executive functions (EFs) and their association with educational attainment has disproportionately focused on younger ages, mainly pre-schoolers and primary school aged children. Conversely, the period of adolescence and specifically the later stages thereof have been largely overlooked, despite indications suggesting that particular aspects of EFs continue developing throughout adolescence and into young adulthood. Researching EFs during the latter part of adolescence might be particularly informative considering the increasing academic demands that adolescents encounter at school during these ages. In the final years of secondary school, adolescents are called to make critical academic and life decisions and work towards long-term goals (e.g., employment, further education), rendering EFs ever more potent during this period. Furthermore, in multifaceted subjects, such as science, in which attainment relies heavily on a variety of transferable skills, it may be through these skills that EFs affect adolescents' attainment. Methods This thesis constitutes a unique contribution to the existing EF literature, in that it addresses questions regarding the development and relation of EFs to educational attainment in the previously overlooked period of late adolescence. Attainment in different disciplines was examined separately and, in the case of science, numeracy and non-verbal reasoning skills were examined as mediators of the relationship between EFs and attainment. A total of 347 adolescents, aged between 14 and 18 (i.e., years 3-5 of secondary school), were administered cognitive tasks that measured three EF components, namely inhibition, shifting and working memory, and completed paper-based assessments of their numeracy and non-verbal reasoning skills. Participants' school grades/performance in national qualifications on a variety of subjects were considered as indicators of their educational attainment. Results The results showed that, within the large cross-sectional sample of 14-18 year olds considered, there were significant developmental changes in inhibition, but not shifting or working memory. Furthermore, there was strong evidence of associations between older adolescents' EFs and their attainment in the curriculum areas of English, maths, science, social studies, modern languages and arts. Interestingly, the patterns of association among the three EF components and attainment differed as a function of age cohort. In a separate study, EFs were examined in relation to the oldest (fifth-year) adolescents' performance in national qualifications for entry into university, but EFs were not found to have any significant effect beyond that of socioeconomic status. Finally, it was shown that the relationship between EFs and attainment in science was mediated by numeracy but not non-verbal reasoning skills. Conclusions This thesis showcases the significance of studying EFs in adolescence, with the results showing that certain aspects of EF continued maturing during the ages of 14- 18 and had an ongoing effect on adolescents' educational attainment. These findings suggest that, even during the later stages of adolescence, EFs may constitute a useful target for educational interventions aimed at improving pupils' attainment. In addition, this thesis highlights the important role of socioeconomic status as a determining factor of adolescents' EFs and their educational attainment.

LITERATURE REVIEW: A systematic review of the associations between effortful control, repetitive negative thinking and depression in adolescence. ABSTRACT: Background: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and the self-regulatory temperament, effortful control (EC), have been found to be important risk factors for the development of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, adolescence has been found to be a period of increased risk for developing depressive symptoms. The relationships between these risk pathways are not well understood during this period of development. Objective: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the literature exploring the relationships RNT and EC have in accounting for depressive symptoms in adolescents. In particular, whether RNT and EC are associated with depressive symptoms, and whether EC moderates the effects of RNT on depressive symptoms. Methods: Three databases and key journals were searched for studies measuring EC, RNT and depressive symptoms in 10-20 year olds. Study selection was undertaken by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using a validated checklist. Inter-rater reliability was calculated for a random subsample of the search. Results: Thirteen studies were selected for inclusion. There was evidence indicating that RNT was correlated with depressive symptoms both concurrently and prospectively. The evidence for a relationship between lower EC and higher levels of depressive symptoms was mixed. High quality studies concluded that EC and depressive symptoms are associated concurrently, but not over time. There is evidence that lower EC predicts RNT over time, and even spanning over childhood. Some evidence was found for EC as a moderator between RNT and depressive symptoms and this was also found when the relationship was prospective. Conclusions: Whilst the reviewed literature had many strengths, there were large differences in how EC in particular, was measured. This resulted in a challenge synthesising the results and making clear conclusions. Future research would benefit from considering self-report and behavioural measures, and recognising the potential impact of stressful life events. EMPIRICAL PAPER: Investigating associations between repetitive negative thinking, stress, and effortful control, and the development and maintenance of depression in adolescence: A follow-up study. ABSTRACT: Background: Adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability for depressive symptoms (Twenge & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2002). Given the impact of emotional disorders on an individual, it is important to understand risk factors, and conversely, protective factors to inform effective interventions. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and the self-regulatory temperament, effortful control (EC), have been found to be important risk factors for the development of depressive symptoms and require further exploration in adolescence. Objective: This study investigated whether RNT predicted changes in later depressive symptoms, and if so, whether this change was moderated by EC. The study examined these associations during emotional reactivity to a stressor (exams), and emotional recovery following the stressor. Methods: Two samples with similar designs and measures were combined in this study. Two-hundred-and-fifty-five females completed Baseline questionnaires measuring life events, RNT, EC, and depressive symptoms. One-hundred-and-ninety-nine participants were followed up prior to their exams (Pre-exam), and 115 participants were followed up after their exams (Post-exam). Results: The study first examined emotional reactivity to stress, finding that contrary to the literature, RNT did not predict depressive symptoms in response to stress, when controlling for Baseline depressive symptoms. EC did not significantly interact with RNT in predicting depressive symptoms. However, RNT was associated with emotional recovery from stress: RNT predicted levels of depressive symptoms following exams, when controlling for Pre-exam depressive symptoms. Furthermore, EC moderated this relationship, however contrary to the literature and predictions, this was not in the expected direction, with high levels of EC associated with high levels of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: These findings suggest that despite the strengths of the study design, including a large sample at Baseline and follow up over a period of stress, hypothesized associations were not found during emotional reactivity to stress, but hypothesized associations were found during emotional recovery from stress. Recommendations are made for future studies, including recruiting sufficient number of males to the study.

Background: Attachment theory [Bowlby, J. 1969, 1973, 1980 Attachment & Loss, Volumes I-III, London: Hogarth Press] proposes that a person’s experiences of care in infancy and childhood lay the foundations for their internal working models of themselves and others. Inconsistent, unpredictable or hostile caregiving can lead individuals to hold negative internal working models which can impact on their mental health later in life. Many looked after and accommodated young people have experienced this type of neglectful or abusive parenting. These experiences of parenting may lead looked after young people to have internal working models of themselves as ineffective and of others as powerful, thus leading them to develop a learned helplessness and a more external locus of control. Objectives: A systematic review was carried out in order to explore the mechanisms by which the relationship between attachment and depression functions in adolescence. An empirical study aimed to investigate whether young people with negative attachment experiences, those who are looked after and accommodated, have higher levels of depression or a more external locus of control than other young people of the same age and the role these play in their future thinking. Method: Nineteen papers investigating mediators and moderators of the attachmentdepression relationship in adolescence were reviewed. In the empirical study, a group of looked after and a group of non-looked after young people aged 15-18 were asked about their approach and avoidance goals for the future and were asked to rate beliefs in their control over, and likelihood of, achieving these goals. Results: Evidence was found for a number of mediators of the relationship between attachment and adolescent depression. There were also found to be significant differences between the two groups with differing care histories with regards to levels of depression and locus of control, with looked after young people having higher levels of depression and a more external locus of control. A mediation analysis found that locus of control mediated the relationship between looked after status and future thinking. Conclusions: A person’s attachment history and experiences of care in early childhood can impact on their levels of depression and locus of control. There are a number of factors which mediate or moderate the attachment-depression relationship, most of which can be attributed to an individual’s internal working model of either themselves or others. Locus of control plays a critical role in young people’s future thinking and professionals working with accommodated adolescents should facilitate these young people to have experiences which will help to increase the internality of their locus of control. Objective: Attachment security has been found to be a significant predictor of depression in adolescence. This review aimed to examine the pathways by which this relationship functions by reviewing studies which have investigated potential mediating or moderating factors. Method: Studies were included if they investigated mediation and/or moderation of the relationship between attachment and adolescent depression. Results: A number of cognitive and social factors were found to mediate the attachmentdepression relationship. Age was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship but the findings on gender were inconsistent. The findings should be treated with caution, however, as many of the studies reviewed were potentially underpowered. Conclusions: A model is proposed in which mediating factors were linked to the internal working models of self and others. The need for future research to be carried out in clinical adolescent populations with sample sizes large enough to ensure adequate power was identified.

Children learn words astonishingly skilfully. Even infants can reliably “fast map” novel category labels to their referents without feedback or supervision (Carey & Bartlett, 1978; Houston-Price, Plunkett, & Harris, 2005). Using both empirical and neural network modelling methods this thesis presents an examination of both the fast and slow mapping phases of children's early word learning in the context of object and action categorisation. A series of empirical experiments investigates the relationship between within-category perceptual variability on two-year-old children's ability to learn labels for novel categories of objects and actions. Results demonstrate that variability profoundly affects both noun and verb learning. A review paper situates empirical word learning research in the context of recent advances in the application of computational models to developmental research. Data from the noun experiments are then simulated using a Dynamic Neural Field (DNF) model (see Spencer & Schöner, 2009), suggesting that children's early object categories can emerge dynamically from simple label-referent associations strengthened over time. Novel predictions generated by the model are replicated empirically, providing proofof- concept for the use of DNF models in simulations of word learning, as well emphasising the strong featural basis of early categorisation. The noun data are further explored using a connectionist architecture (Morse, de Greef, Belpaeme & Cangelosi, 2010) in a robotic system, providing the groundwork for future research in cognitive robotics. The implications of these different approaches to cognitive modelling are discussed, situating the current work firmly in the dynamic systems tradition whilst emphasising the value of interdisciplinary research in motivating novel research paradigms.

Health care providers see patient information provision as one objective they must meet in an endeavour to provide good patient care. Received wisdom suggests that the more information a patient has available to them about their illness, its progression and treatment, the better their healthcare will be (Suzuki & Calzo, 2004; Information Strategy Team & Department for Health, 2010). However, this may not be the case. Some studies have shown that certain patients may not want information on their disease and patients may differ in the types of information they find most helpful depending in their information processing style (Miller, Fang, Diefenbach, & Bales, 2001; Suzuki & Calzo, 2004). In contrast, others may prefer certain types of information depending on the ways in which they cope with illness (Seale, Ziebland, & Charteris-Black, 2006) and the ways in which they process information once they have access to it (Caes, Vervoort, Eccleston, & Goubert, 2012; Eysenbach, Powell, Englesakis, Rizo, & Stern, 2004). One common source of information is through peer-to-peer interactions especially in hospital waiting rooms and ward areas, as these provide patients with the means to access others suffering from similar problems and ask to about their lives (Miller et al., 2001). However, in the digital age the internet is now emerging as the primary medium for both information gathering and peer-to-peer interactions of patient groups (Eysenbach et al., 2004). At present we know very little about how children use this mode of information gathering and support seeking in order to cope with illness, and more specifically with pain. At the very least the change of what we mean by space and place online alters the ways in which children may communicate with each other (Fox, Morris, & Rumsey, 2007). In this PhD thesis I begin, in chapter one by reviewing what limited research has been carried out on child pain information seeking. In chapter two, the first empirical study assesses what children who seek information and support online find when they search. This study is a content analysis of pain websites found by using search terms generated by teenagers. The second empirical study, in chapter three, assesses how adolescents access and use this information in the context of their wider pain coping. A questionnaire is utilised to assess these coping mechanisms. The third empirical study assesses what frequent users of the internet think of online health information. I accessed frequent users of the internet through an online message board Let’s Chat Pain. In the development of this message board a number of key ethical and methodological issues were brought to light and this study presented a solution to many of these issues. A paper describing some of the solutions presented by this case is presented in chapter four followed by the results of the study itself in chapter five. The final study assesses what impedes non-users of online health information and support in a focus group of non-users of online information and support in chapter six. The final chapter, chapter seven will draw some conclusions of the thesis.