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Conduct problems in childhood are associated with a significantly increased rate of mental health problems in later life, increased contact with the criminal justice system and poorer educational and occupational outcomes (NICE, 2017). Efforts to prevent the development of conduct problems in children and adolescents have resulted in a number of effective behavioural training programmes developed for parents of babies through to adolescence (Piquero et al., 2016). Children who show Callous-Unemotional behaviours (CU) demonstrate particularly high levels of conduct problems (Frick et al., 2014). CU behaviours are characterised as a lack of empathy, guilt and shallow affect shown in children (Frick et al., 2014). Research examining the effectiveness of parenting interventions for children with CU behaviours have shown mixed results. Typically, children with CU behaviour do not respond well to the use of consequences (e.g. time-out), a standard component of most parent training programmes (Hawes & Dadds, 2005; Frick & Morris, 2004). Parenting programmes that capitalise on increasing parental warmth and improving parent-child communication, however, have shown promising results in reducing CU behaviours (Pasalich et al., 2015; White et al., 2013). The types of attributions that parents make about their children's behaviour have also been implicated in the development of children's conduct problems (Park et al., 2018; Rodriguez & Wittig, 2019). When a parent blames a child for a transgression or wrongdoing (and therefore makes an internal, causal attribution about the child), this can also influence a more hostile and physically punitive method of discipline used on children (Nix et al., 1999; Milner et al., 2019). Despite a wealth of evidence in support of the negative impact that childresponsible attributions can have on children, there is little known about its relationship with CU behaviour. Therefore, further investigation into the negative impact of child-responsible attributions on parenting and how this may be implicated in the development of CU behaviour is warranted. This research dissertation aimed to synthesise the research looking at child-responsible attributions and harsh discipline use as well as addressing the gap in the literature concerning child-responsible attributions and CU behaviour. Chapter one is a systematic review of the research literature investigating the link between child-responsible attributions and harsh discipline/ physical punishment risk. Twenty-five papers covering a twenty-year period were accepted for inclusion within the review. Findings revealed that increased use of child-responsible attributions were associated with harsh and punitive methods of discipline. Parents at risk of physically abusing their children and those who had been prosecuted for doing so, were shown to use more childresponsible attributions and harsher discipline methods. To address the methodological limitations of the current research base, longitudinal designs, and alternatives to self-report methods for measuring child-responsible attributions and harsh discipline/physical punishment are needed. The second chapter of this thesis aims to investigate whether child-responsible attributions are associated with the development of callous-unemotional behaviours in children aged 27 months to 7 years of age using a latent growth curve model on a longitudinal data set. Maternal age, maternal positive affect, maternal psychopathy, infant sex, child oppositional behaviour and psychosocial risk were also included in the analysis. The unique effects of child-responsible attributions and maternal psychopathy on CU behaviour were highlighted. These results have potential implications for the support offered to families of children with CU behaviour.

Difficulties associated with the study of microbial communities, such as low proportions of cultivable species, have been addressed in recent years with the advent of a range of sequencing technologies and bioinformatic tools. This is enabling previously unexplored communities to be characterised and utilised in a range of biotechnology applications. In this thesis bioinformatic methods were applied to two datasets of biotechnological interest: microbial communities found living with the oil-producing alga Botryococcus braunii and microbial communities in acid mine drainage (AMD). B. braunii is of high interest to the biofuel industry due to its ability to produce high amounts of oils, in the form of hydrocarbons. However, a number of factors, including low growth rates, have prevented its cultivation on an industrial scale. Studies show B. braunii lives in a consortium with numerous bacteria which may influence its growth. This thesis reports both whole genome analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis to gain a greater understanding of the B. braunii bacterial consortium. Bacteria have been identified, some of which had not previously been documented as living with B. braunii, and evidence is presented for ways in which they may influence growth of the alga, including B-vitamin synthesis and secretion systems. AMD is a worldwide problem, polluting the environment and negatively impacting on human health. This by-product of the mining industry is a problem in the South West of England, where disused metalliferous mines are now a source of AMD. Bioremediation of AMD is an active area of research; sulphur-reducing bacteria and other bacteria which can remove toxic metals from AMD can be utilised for this purpose. Identifying bacteria and archaea that are able to thrive in AMD and which also have these bioremediation properties is therefore of great importance. Metagenomic sequencing has been carried out on the microbial community living in AMD sediment at the Wheal Maid tailings lagoon near Penryn in Cornwall. From these data have been identified a diverse range of bacteria and archaea present at both the sediment surface level and at depth, including microorganisms closely related to taxa reported from metalliferous mines on other continents. Evidence has been found of sulphur-reducing bacteria and of pathways for various other bioremediation-linked processes.