The present study explored perfectionism as a cognitive vulnerability of depression. A group of 135 adolescents, aged between 15 and 16 years old, completed measures of self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism, rumination and depression, three weeks before an important exam period. Symptoms of depression were measured again four weeks later, after the exams had finished but before the results had been shared. A cross-sectional mediation analysis revealed that both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism could predict depression and that these associations were fully mediated by rumination. After the exams, pupils on average reported an improvement in mood. Socially-prescribed perfectionism was however associated with higher scores of depression at Time 2 compared to their peers, which could not be explained by pre-exam rumination. This study adds to the existing literature suggesting the two types of perfectionism may have different developmental trajectories. Implication and advice for future research and clinical work are discussed.

There is empirical support for an association between childhood adverse events and psychopathology in adult offenders. This systematic review aims to summarise the literature that measures the predictive value of history of abuse on mental illness and personality disorders in prisoners in custody. Thirty studies were identified. The studies examined a total of 11,427 participants (8,990 males, 2,437 females). The number of offenders in each study ranged from 47 to 3,986. Childhood abuse and neglect were primarily examined. There was support that these subtypes are associated with several psychiatric disorders. Additionally, there were differences across male and female offenders both in terms of the numbers of studies that looked at specific psychopathologies, and the associations between adversity and future psychiatric difficulties. Methodological considerations, future research, and clinical implications are discussed.

Background: Sleep disturbances are common in children and young people with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders (TS/CTD), although at present it is unclear whether any particular sleep problems could be considered typical of these conditions. It is also not known whether any identified patient characteristics, neurodevelopmental or psychiatric factors are associated with their presence in this group. Objectives: This review aimed to systematically explore types and frequency of sleep problems in children with TS/CTD. It aimed to examine the heterogeneity of previous studies in terms of sample characteristics and assessment methods and consider methodological quality of included studies. Methods: The Psycinfo, Ovid Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched using a range of terms relating to tics, sleep and co-existing psychopathology. Studies were considered if they met a pre-determined set of criteria, including a sample of children with TS/CTD (n>5) for whom sleep disturbance was measured. 14 studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. Results: Overall, this review supported the high prevalence of sleep difficulties in children with TS/CTD, although rates varied widely from 17% to 80.4% (Interquartile Range (IQR) =21%-48%). A number of studies reported on other factors affecting sleep in this patient group including comorbidity, medication use and sample-related factors, such as age and gender. Studies varied in terms of methodology, sample and quality. Conclusions: The high rates of sleep problems in children with TS/CTD identified in this review, which was based on a small yet heterogeneous sample of papers, highlights the need for continued research in this area. The potential moderating factors and associated difficulties discussed here should be considered further to enhance understanding of the aetiology and management of sleep difficulties in this group.

This thesis examines the relationship between language and non-linguistic processes. The experimental work presented, focusses on the influence of language on two non-linguistic processes: spatial memory and visual attention. In the first series of experiments, the influence of spatial demonstratives (this/that) and possessives (my/your) on memory for object location was examined in four experiments, using an adapted version of the memory game procedure (Coventry et al., 2008, 2014). The experiments were designed to test between different models regarding how language affects memory: the Expectation model, the Congruence model, and the Attention-allocation model. Over a series of experiments, our data supports the Expectation model, which suggests, consistent with models of predictive coding (cf., Lupyan & Clark, 2015), that memory for object location is a concatenation of the actual location and the expected location. The expectation of a location can be elicited by language use (e.g., demonstrative or possessive pronouns). The second series of experiments examined demonstratives and memory in English and Japanese. We chose Japanese, because it purportedly employs a three-demonstrative system, compared to a binary system as in English (this, that). Three-way systems can be used to explicitly encode parameters that are not encoded in English, for example the position of a conspecific. In four experiments, we wanted to test whether a system as different as the Japanese demonstrative system is from English, has a similar influence on non-linguistic cognition. To this aim, we had to first experimentally establish which parameters are encoded in the Japanese demonstrative system. Second, we tested how this three-term demonstrative system acted in light of the Expectation model. The idea that Japanese demonstratives encode the position of a conspecific, which we confirmed in this study, poses an interesting problem for the Expectation model. The Expectation model works via the idea of an expected location; but the expected location calculated from a speaker gives a contradicting expectation value to the expected location from a hearer. Our memory data did not completely support any of the current models. However, interestingly, the position effect found in Japanese was also apparent in English. This might suggest that demonstrative pronoun systems, despite the fact that they seem different, could be based on universal mechanisms. However, the effects we found were stronger in Japanese, suggesting the weight of a parameter (such as position) might be influenced by whether or not a language explicitly codes the parameter. In the last experiment, we considered the influence of language on visual attention. Specifically, we examined if language expressing different spatial frames of reference affect how people look at visual scenes. The results showed different eye-movement patterns for different frames of reference (i.e., intrinsic vs. relative). These eye-movement signatures were consistent with participants’ verbal descriptions and persisted throughout the trials. We show for the first time that different reference frames, expressed in language, elicit distinguishable eye-movement patterns. The work presented in this thesis shows effects of language on memory for object location and visual attention. Effects of language on memory for object location were consistent with models of predictive coding. Furthermore, despite the fact that English and Japanese employ different demonstrative systems, results for both languages were remarkably similar. These results could indicate universal parameters underlying demonstrative systems, but perhaps parameters differentially weighted, as a function of whether or not they are explicitly encoded in a language. Finally, we showed that spatial language (prepositions) guide visual attention. To our knowledge this is the first time frames of reference are associated with identifyable eye-movement patterns. The results are discussed and situated in current literature, with theoretical implications and directions for future research highlighted.

Background: In the UK, administrative data resources continue to expand across publically funded youth-orientated health, education and social services. Despite attempts to capture these data in structured formats, which are more accessible for analysis, most health information is stored as free text entry in electronic records. Big data techniques which combine large scale data linkage and automatic information extraction from free text, using Natural Language Processing (NLP), have considerable potential for enhancing the depth of information available from routinely collected public service data. There are a very limited number of published studies which have applied these big data techniques to answer questions relevant to child and adolescent psychiatry. Methods: This thesis examined original and clinically relevant research questions using data from routinely collected electronic health records, enriched by NLP and linkages to external data sources. Five related studies were performed all using data obtained from the SLaM BRC Case Record Information Search (CRIS) extracted using a NLP approaches, with two studies using external linkages with routinely collected national electronic datasets (NHS Hospital Episode Statistics and DfE National Pupil Database, NPD). Results: Using these data resources, I provide empirical support for the hypothesis that neurodevelopmental comorbidities increase children and adolescents’ risk for potentially more harmful treatments, greater treatment complexity and worse clinical outcomes. The NLP methods employed overcame limitations of structured data extraction, providing better assessment of a diverse range of symptom types, severity and related impairments, including suicidal risk, negative symptoms, antipsychotic treatment failure, and self-harm. External data linkages with the NPD enabled population level analyses by nesting clinical samples within their source population. NPD linkage also permitted the inclusion of education performance data, which were not routinely available within electronic health records. Conclusion: The thesis illustrates how the legal, governance and technical challenges were surmountable to enable linkage between NHS and Department for Education public service data. Also, it demonstrated that NLP and data linkages of electronic health records, have a clear role in clinical epidemiological studies of child and adolescent mental health. These tools, combined with the continued digitisation of public service activity, can unlock huge and detailed data resources for population-based analyses. However, current approaches have deficiencies, including limitations in accuracy, construct validity, and restrictions in the data available, providing challenges for future research.

Ownership, a sociocultural concept experienced at an intrapersonal level as thoughts and feelings than an object is mine; is an important feature of our daily experience. However, norms and laws define our behaviour in response to others’ belongings. Research is beginning to elucidate that the ownership status of an object, whether an object is mine or yours, influences a range of cognitive processes. Findings generally indicate that objects associated with the self receive prioritised processing, compared with objects associated with others. However, within the lesser investigated cognitive domain of action production, there is some initial evidence to suggest that we are sensitive to other’s belongings; with knowledge of self and other-ownership modulating the visuomotor system. Therefore, the present thesis aimed to extend these findings in two key ways. Firstly, on the basis of indirect evidence obtained from movement kinematics, by investigating whether ownership mediates the tendency to approach or avoid objects. Secondly, by investigating the influence of ownership status in an action context yet to be considered: during the avoidance of obstacles within the workspace. Broadly, this thesis presents findings consistent with indirect evidence that ownership status does influence approach and avoidance behaviour; and evidence that the visuomotor system possesses some sensitivity to the ownership status of obstacles as we navigate the workspace. However, in accordance with previous work, the effects obtained, particularly in relation to other-ownership, were sensitive to task context. In addition, alternative explanations of self-ownership effects (for example, resulting from attentional mechanisms) were difficult to fully discount using indirect measures, such as response time. Therefore, while adding to the limited body of research concerning the effects of ownership on the visuomotor system; the current work highlights the need for future research concerning motoric effects to recruit more direct measures of action-related processes.

The present thesis reports findings from experiments investigating the neural correlates of subsequent source memory performance, repetition and reinstatement of item and source information. Electrophysiological and haemodynamic response data were obtained in two experimental paradigms further investigating effects of encoding modality and encoding context. The primary aim was to identify how neural pattern similarity was influenced by changes to perceptual stimulus features or changes to encoding task instructions, with a particular focus on the role of pattern reactivation. The first set of experiments (Chapters 3 & 4) examined the effects of encoding modality on source memory processes and repetition during study and test phases. Representational similarity analysis of the fMRI data revealed modality independent and modality-dependent source memory effects, suggesting that reactivation of different stimulus features predicted source memory performance when stimuli are repeatedly presented. Overall, the results provide evidence for pattern reactivation to benefit source memory formation and retrieval. The second set of experiments (Chapters 5 & 6) investigated the effects of encoding items repeatedly in the same context or across multiple contexts. Pattern reactivation in the same task condition was shown to enhance source memory for the encoding context. However, lower levels of reactivation were associated with successful source memory performance when stimuli were associated with multiple contexts. Together with the EEG data, the results provide evidence for distinct mechanisms to underlie successful context encoding when items were either repeatedly encoded in the same context or in different contexts. Moreover, results from the EEG analyses suggested that repetition effects predict subsequent source memory performance when they occur in a similar time window as the late parietal component, which is commonly related to recollection. Taken together, the present research advances our understanding of repeated encoding of item and source memory information and leads to novel directions for future research.

The relationship between mother and child has been one of interest to attachment theorists who have studied this relationship following Bowlby’s (1969/1982) proposition that children are attached to their mother. They suggest that their mother is guided by a caregiving behavioural system to provide care and protection to her child. It has been proposed that this system develops throughout life, reaching a peak in its maturity during pregnancy and the transition to motherhood, however the ontology of this system has not previously been studied. Other researchers have proposed that the relationship during pregnancy is reflective of the mother being attached to her foetus. Although many researchers have studied the relationship between mother and foetus and mother and child, very few have looked at these constructs together. This thesis aims to draw together the differing methodologies to provide a better understanding of what impacts a mother’s transition to parenthood and her relationship with her child. The findings of a total of 6 studies will be discussed. First, this research found that the antenatal relationship between a mother and her foetus is best explained as a caregiving relationship rather than as an attachment relationship. Additionally, maternal relationships with partners were important factors in the women’s transition to motherhood – high relationship satisfaction and providing responsive care to partners 1 year after giving birth were significantly associated with lower parenting stress. Finally, a small longitudinal sample from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy until the children were 1 year old is presented. Overall, these results indicate that the development of the caregiving behavioural system merits further study, as it does seem to be related to antenatal relationships, which may impact infant attachment security.

In a series of experiments, the influence of familiar object size on the speed of processing was investigated in adults and children, using a simple reaction time (RT) approach. In chapter 2, we demonstrated that children exhibited size-constancy-like responses starting from the age of five, although this conclusion was limited by task accuracy (experiment 1). The influence of symbolic and familiar size on simple RT was explored in 3 to 6-year-olds and adults (experiment 2). The task was conducted under reduced viewing conditions to enhance the contribution of familiar size as a visual cue. Although, we were unable to observe an effect of familiar or symbolic size on RT, we attributed this result to important methodological issues. In chapter 3, we report six experiments where we tested the influence of familiar size on simple RTs, measured under regular and reduced viewing conditions. The effect of animacy on RTs was also examined. We found that RTs were affected by familiar size in a manner that reflected the level of congruency between the physical size and the stored representation of size, such that congruent stimuli were responded to faster than incongruent stimuli. We also observed an animacy effect on RT: participants reacted faster to animals than non-animals. Finally, in chapter 4 we report an ERP study that investigated the electrophysiological correlates of familiar size. Results showed that the visual system processes familiar size around 100 ms after stimulus onset. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that familiar size is an automatic property of visual processing that can affect speeded motor responses. Future research could investigate the neural mechanisms underlying familiar object size and animacy, and specifically whether these mechanisms develop with age.

Despite growing evidence supporting a link between paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and engagement in antisocial behaviour, few studies have taken a rigorous approach in evaluating this. The present review systematically explored previous literature examining the association between TBI before the age of nineteen years old and engagement in severe behavioural problems such as for instance violence, aggression and assault. All articles published from 1990 to 2016 were searched using four major databases (Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science), alongside manual searching and cross-referencing. The level and quality of evidence were evaluated using quality assessment tools selected from previous literature. A total of 14 studies were found to meet eligibility criteria. Taken together, they supported the presence of an association between paediatric TBI and antisocial behaviour, and identified some potentially intersecting factors (e.g., emotional dysregulation, drug and alcohol abuse). However, the studies also consistently presented with a number of methodological limitations, such as, for instance, unclear temporal ordering of TBI and antisocial behaviour; limited information about participants’ pre-injury backgrounds; over-reliance on self-report measures. These make it difficult to make meaningful comparisons across studies and draw definite regarding the directionality of the relationship between TBI and antisocial behaviour, and the mechanisms underpinning this association. The findings indicate that there is a need for more extensive and methodologically sound research on the topic. A novel, age-graded theoretical model examining the relationship between paediatric TBI, antisocial behaviour, and different child- and parent-based risk factors was introduced, before this is described in more detail and tested in the next chapter of the present thesis. The implications of the present systematic review for informing rehabilitation and preventative measures are discussed.