Graduate Research Degree Awarded - Megan Chapman

Congratulations to Megan Chapman - Graduate Research Degree Awarded 5 January 2021.

Degree: PhD
Supervisors: A/Prof Campbell Paul (Principal), Dr Julia Charlton
Advisory Committee: Prof Jane Halliday (Chair), Dr Helen Shoemark, A/Prof Brigid Jordan

Thesis Title: Reflecting on Babies in the NICU: An exploration of Parental Reflective Functioning in a quaternary neonatal intensive care unit

Thesis Summary: This research examined Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and its relationship to parent-infant attachment and parental trauma. The research found that 1. PRF was measurable using both the newly developed Parent Development Interview (PDI) NICU, and the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ); 2. Parents ability to display PRF in NICU was related to parent-infant attachment at nine-month follow up; and 3. Higher PRF while in NICU placed parents at risk of acute trauma symptoms. This knowledge may lead to new ways of improving infant-parent relationships, attachment, and a subsequent designed intervention might lead to improvement in mental health for both child and parent.

Date awarded: 5 January 2021

Megan Chapman