This is an opportunity to study a fully-funded PhD in both Australia and the UK, and to work with internationally recognised researchers in child health and neurodevelopment. The studentship includes a monthly stipend for the duration of the programme.

The Aston-Deakin Cotutelle PhD is a partnership program between Aston University (Birmingham, UK ) and Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia) .

All studentship projects will be jointly supervised across the two institutions, offering an excellent opportunity for students to undertake research training in an international, collaborative environment, learning new skills and developing valuable networks. Students will be primarily based at their home with a period of at least 6 months spent studying at their host institution.

Details of the Project

This project is based in Aston University (United Kingdom)

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety are the most diagnosed conditions in young people in Australia and the UK. Mental health services for young people tend to focus on the young person, with the aim of reducing psychological distress. The focus typically remains on the young person, which often leads to the broader psychological needs of parents/caregivers being de-emphasised or overlooked, despite research showing that caregiver mental health significantly impacts child outcomes. To break this cycle, it is essential for parents to develop knowledge and skills to recognise and label their responses to their child’s emotions and behaviours. However, current therapeutic models often lack the structure and resources to help parents build essential skills at managing emotions, leaving them underprepared to support their child’s long-term mental health.

This project aims to address these gaps by (i) investigating the emotional experiences of young people with ADHD and/or an anxiety disorder and their parents/caregivers using quantitative survey methodology and interviews and (ii) developing a low-cost, digestible, structured intervention with stakeholders to support parents navigating the likely highs and lows of parenting a young person with these conditions. The target populations for this project are primary-aged children and secondary-aged young people in the UK and Australia with ADHD and/or an anxiety disorder, and their parents/caregivers. By focusing on the emotional needs of parents in greater depth than previous interventions, this project seeks to improve outcomes for young people within the context of their most immediate support system, ultimately increasing the likelihood of successful, sustainable intervention outcomes.

This project will enable two students to investigate novel and clinically important factors, including the: (i) emotional experiences of young people with ADHD and/or an anxiety disorder and their parents/caregivers; (ii) comparison and contrasting of findings for young people themselves and those from their parents/caregivers; (iii) comparison and contrasting of findings from primary and secondary-aged cohorts; (iv) comparing of findings across the two diagnostic populations; (v) undertaking cross-cultural comparisons between Australia and the UK; and (vi) developing and evaluating (acceptability/feasibility) an intervention for parents.

One student will be primarily based in the UK at Aston University, with a minimum of six months in Australia at Deakin University, and the other will be primarily based at Deakin University with a minimum of six months in the UK at Aston University. Each student will work with the supervisory team to refine the focus of their PhD and the direction their work will take within the field of ADHD and anxiety intervention research.

Due to co-occurring conditions associated with anxiety and ADHD, there is the possibility of exploring additional variables that may influence interventions alongside the core focus of this PhD, for example, a co-occurring autism or a learning disability diagnosis. This is particularly relevant in the PhD studentship based at Aston University due to the experience of the supervisory team.

This project will ideally be co-designed with young people with ADHD/Anxiety and their parents. There is no expectation that potential candidates have experience in co-design.

Supervisors: Jane Waite, Julie Kos and Elizabeth Westrupp

Person Specification

For this project, experience with mixed methods would be desirable. Experience of working in a research or clinical context with individuals with a diagnosis ADHD or anxiety would be helpful, but not essential.

Aston home studentship funding is open to UK, Australian and international students. Deakin home studentship funding is open to Australian domestic students. International students will require a student visa to be able to study in the UK. Check this web page for further information .

Academic requirements

For full details of the academic requirements, please visit Aston-Deakin Cotutelle PhD Program (IHN) | Aston University

Contact information

For queries about the project please contact Jane Waite on [email protected]

For admissions enquires please contact [email protected]

Submitting an application

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
5. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements . If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
6. A copy of your passport . Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Apply for this position here