Overview and Aims
The Center for Family & Developmental Psychology aims to look at contemporary issues related to family, parenting, special educational needs, developmental psychology, and gerontology. This center takes a lifespan perspective where the understanding of human behaviour needs to be contextualized in the focus of various developmental stages from cradle to grave. This center was consolidated in 2021 and includes involvement in various research projects, as well as social engagements to promote positive outcomes for families and individuals in the community at each stage of the life cycle.
Key Research Areas
Ongoing Research (as of Feb 2021)
Selected List of Publications and Research Output: Academic
[In collaboration with The Center for Emotions and Positive Psychology]
Shah, R., Thomas, K.S., Ng, S.L., Phoo, E.Y.M. & Tee, E.Y.J. (2021). ‘Beyond resilience: A study of psychological strengths that facilitate recovery and growth,’ paper accepted for presentation at the 32nd International Congress of Psychology (ICP), 18th-23rd July 2021, Prague, Czech Republic.
[In collaboration with The Center for Emotions and Positive Psychology]
Tee, E. J., Raja Reza Shah, R., Thomas, K. S., Ng, S., & Mun, E. P. Y. (2021, March 24). Beyond resilience: Promotive and protective traits that facilitate recovery during crisis. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p2h35
Wickersham, A., Leightley, D., Archer, M., and Fear, N.T. (2020). The association between paternal psychopathology and adolescent depression and anxiety: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders. 79:232-246. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.01.007
Archer, M., Harwood, H., Stevelink, S., Rafferty, L., and Greenberg, N. (2019). Community Reinforcement and Family Training and rates of treatment entry: A systematic review. Addiction. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.14901
Xing, S., Gao, X., Jiang, Y., Archer, M., and Liu, X. (2018). Effects of Ability and Effort Praise on Children’s Failure Attribution, Self-Handicapping, and Performance. Frontiers in Educational Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01883/full
Cheng, N., Lu, S., Archer, M., and Wang, Z. (2018). Quality of Maternal Parenting of 9-Month-Old Infants Predicts Executive Function Performance at 2 and 3 Years of Age. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02293/full
Yaakob, N. F., Haron, F., Darwishah, N., and Abdullah, N. (2018). Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Case from a Girls’ Rehabilitation Centre. International Conference Proceedings of the Asian Association of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology (AAICP), 25 – 27 July 2018, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Tan, J-P., Cheah, C., Chen, J., Fatimah, H., Quek, A.H. “Authoritative Parenting and Child Conduct Problems: The Importance of Child Temperament and Mother’s Asian Values”, a paper presented at the 2018 ISSBD Biennial Meeting, 15 – 19 July, 2018, Gold Coast, Australia.
Mustapha, R., Shahadan, M.A., Abdul Wahab Khan, R.K., Stephan, I & Archer, M. (2017). Students’ anxiety: An examination of the perception of facial threat and perceived paternal and maternal parenting style. Journal of Research, Policy & Practice of Teachers & Teacher Education. Vol. 7, No. 2, December 2017, 19-32
Xing, S., Gao, X., Song, X., Archer, M., Zhao, D., Zhang, M., Ding, B., and Liu, X. (2017). Chinese preschool children’s socioemotional development: the effects of maternal and paternal psychological control. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01818/abstract
Xing, S., Zhou, Q., Archer, M., Yue, J., and Wang, Z. (2016). Infant temperamental reactivity, maternal and grandparental sensitivity: Differential susceptibility for behavior problems in China. Early Human Development, 101: 99-105
Law, E. W. H. and Haron, F. (2016). The Association of Giftedness, Creativity and Postformal Thinking in Malaysian Adults. Advanced Development, A Journal on Adult Giftedness, 15, 47-60.
Outreach: Events/Training
Karuna Thomas presented a webinar and engaged in a forum discussion with a group of members from a church in Kuala Lumpur on the Mental Health of Older Adults during the Movement Control Order and COVID-19 Pandemic on 13th June 2020 via BlueJeans TeleConferencing.
Karuna Thomas has been involved in ongoing community work with the urban poor in the Kota Damansara area. The activities mainly involve a focus on children and education, while part of the outreach includes communicating with families and exploring intergenerational dynamics within the community. However, all community work has been put on hold from March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marc Archer has been involved in the My Mind On Film youth mental health film festival. This project is central to the Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing’s commitment to engaging with young people, hearing their voices, and working together for progress. It combines emphases on inspiration, expression, understanding and stigma reduction with a focus on the local Malaysian context.
Media
Empowering Lives Podcast: How to Take Care of Our Relationships by Karuna Thomas (URL: https://anchor.fm/empowering-lives/episodes/How-to-take-care-of-our-relationships-feat–Karuna-Sarah-Thomas-ec96bg)
Gerontology 101. On BFM Night School at BFM89.9 first aired 25th October 2018. Podcast available at: https://www.bfm.my/podcast/night-shift/night-school/night-school-gerontology-101
Members
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