Dr Liz Halstead (IOE) Professor Jo Van Herwegen (IOE) & Professor Michael Thomas (Birkbeck)

This PhD will involve secondary data analysis and collection of new data to examine longitudinal trajectories of primary school development in areas of literacy and maths and associations with mental health, behaviour and sleep in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). It will use data from the LonDownS Infant Stream which is one of the largest cohorts on infants and toddlers (2-66 months) with DS in the world (N=115).  

Aims 

The PhD aims to develop a better understanding of developmental trajectories of primary school outcomes in DS, how these are influenced by mental health, sleep, behaviour, and prior therapeutic interventions, as well as how cross-sectional trajectories compare to longitudinal ones. The following research questions will be examined: 

1. Can individual differences in sleep disruption, parental wellbeing and child mental health explain individual differences in reading and mathematical abilities in DS? 

2. How does child sleep, child and parent mental wellbeing and child behaviour impact reading and mathematical abilities long-term, and to what extent are these relationships sensitive to therapeutic interventions?  

Informed by research questions 1 and 2 a co-produced focus group and workshop will be conducted to answer the following research question.  

3. What support do parent require and what early intervention support can be put in place? 

Outcomes 

The current study will provide a better understanding of how educational outcomes (reading and mathematical abilities) are influenced by sleep and wellbeing as well as general behaviour in young children with DS cross-sectionally as well as longitudinally and what support should be implemented for parents and young children with DS aged 0-3 years old

Closing date for applications is:  28 February 2024 (23.59pm)

Further details about the project may be obtained from: 

Principal Supervisor: l.halstead@ucl.ac.uk  

Co-Supervisor: m.thomas@bbk.ac.uk; j.vanherwegen@ucl.ac.uk  

Further information about PhDs at UCL is available from: 

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/research-degrees/psychology-and-human-development-mphil-phd

How to Apply

https://ucl.smapply.io/prog/2024_bloomsbury_colleges

Key References

Rankin J, Tennant PW, Bythell M, Pearce MS. Predictors of survival in children born with Down syndrome: a registry-based study. Pediatrics. 2012 Jun;129(6):e1373-81. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-3051. Epub 2012 May 21. PMID: 22614780. 

Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M. J., & Stevenson, J. (2004). Phonemes, rimes, vocabulary, and grammatical skills as foundations of early reading development: evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental psychology, 40(5), 665. 

Fucà, E., Costanzo, F., Ursumando, L., Celestini, L., Scoppola, V., Mancini, S., … & Vicari, S. (2022). Sleep and behavioral problems in preschool-age children with Down syndrome. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 943516.