Developmental Psychology research group

• Cognitive and social development from pre-natal and within the first two years of life, as well as premature infants and children.
• Social-cognitive development in typical and atypical populations across the life-span.
• The development of reading, numerical and language abilities in infants and preschoolers.
• How individuals with autism perceive and interpret the world and the impact this has on daily life.
• Cognitive development in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Williams syndrome and Down syndrome and associated disorders.
• Theory of Mind and face processing in individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder and in infants and preschoolers.
• People's beliefs and experiences concerning facial appearance and disfigurement.
• The causes of anxiety disorders and how fear-related cognitions and behaviours are acquired.
• Bullying between peers and siblings and the relationship with psychopathology.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents.
• Genetic and environmental mechanisms underlying psychotic experiences.
• The dyadic mother-infant relationship and peri-natal depression: cognitive, social and emotional development within the first year of life.
• Comparative cognition: the origins of knowledge in infants and animals.
• Children as eyewitnesses within the legal system: Cognitive Interviewing as a forensic tool
• Cyber-bullying, cyberpsychology and online risk and e-safety, and online criminal behaviour.
• Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and psychopathology.
• Eating disorders, attitudes, and stigma.
• Mental health policy, transition policy and practice, youth mental health.
• Offending behaviour, intimate partner violence, and psychopathology associated with violence perpetration.
• The evaluation of 'healthy' relationship interventions.
• The effects of marriage, cohabitation and parenthood on offending behaviour, and the antecedents of violence perpetration.

• Research Group head: Professor Muthanna Samara
• Dr Elisa Back
• Dr Fiona Barlow-Brown
• Dr Aiman El-Asam
• Dr Maria Livanou
• Dr Jess Prior
• Dr Delphine Theobald
• Dr Claudia Uller

• Dr Rayane Chami
• Dr Basel El-Khodary
• Dr Natasa Ganea
• Dr Eman Safi

• Fatima El-Bosrati

• Aroosa Bano
• Marcus Bull
• Alaa Albawab
• Katharine Clifford
• Hauwa'U Hassan Danbaba
• Hafisa Hassankutty
• Anya Heneghan
• Rashma Hirani
• Hayley Hunt
• Panagiota Kotopoulou
• Ifigeneia Manitsa
• Milani Pathmanathan
• Sahar Saadani
• Eman Shaltout
• Mahitab Sherif
• Ioannis Spyropoulos

Research is conducted through an extensive network of collaborating primary and secondary schools in or near Kingston upon Thames and with other universities, organisations, charities and hospitals in the UK and overseas. These include: University College London (UCL); Institute of Education; Durham University; Queen's University Belfast; University of Surrey; CBCD, Birkbeck, University of London; King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience; University of Oxford; Goldsmiths College, University of London; Newcastle University; University of Warwick; NHS forensic services; Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC hospital).

• British Academy (£5,687). Visual perspective-taking in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (2011-2012). (EB).
• Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF: NPRP12S-0302-190201) ($700,000). Predicting school readiness amongst preterm children in Qatar and the UK: Behavioural, psychological and health development (2020-2025) (MS).
• Medical Research Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation (MRC-HMC: MRC-01-19-288) ($35,000). Studying EpiGene expression changes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) in the state of Qatar (2019-2023) (MS).

September 2019 to September 2022

• Medical Research Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation (MRC-HMC: MRC-01-18-280) ($35,000). Studying risk factors and comorbid conditions in neurobehavioral disorders in the state of Qatar for neurobehavioral disorders in the state of Qatar (2019-2023) (MS).
• Health Services Research Center (HSRC), Academic Health System (AHS) ($300,000). Teens and Young Adults (TYA) Taking Charge - Managing Cancer Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Online Trial (2018-2022) (MS).
• Conference and Workshop Sponsorship Program (CWSP: CWSP10-W-0318-16002) ($11,000). Cyberbullying, Bullying and School Safety: What we know and what we can do about it? (2016) (MS).

September 2017 to September 2021

• Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF: NPRP9-061-5-006) ($719,991). School experience, educational aspirations and scholastic achievement (2017-2021) (MS).
• Qatar National Research Foundation ($1000,000). Comparative study of cyber bullying in Qatar and the UK: risk factors, impact on health and solutions (2013-16). (MS).
• Qatar National Research Foundation ($900,000). Premature Children in Qatar and the UK: Disability, Cognitive, Eating and Behaviour Development (2015-18). (MS).
• Qatar National Research Foundation ($872,000). Continuous Trauma and PTSD in Qatar and in the Gaza Strip: Risk Factors and Causes, Consequences and Resiliency Factors (2015-18). (MS).
• CResCID Research Grant Proposals 2020/21 (ML).
• 1st Grants Scheme for Early Career Researchers, Kingston University 2020/2021 (ML).
• Research Council Grant Ref: ES/S004467/1) (£55,477) Vulnerability, Online Lives and Mental Health: Towards a New Practice Model. Economic and Social Research Council and e-Nurture Network (AE).
• Youth Works Consulting and in partnership with the Bullying Intervention Group (Suffolk 2015-2017 (£14,200); Nottinghamshire, 2015: £3000 and Dudley, 2016: £20,000). Children's and adolescents' use of internet and their online safety (Sybersurvey.com) (AE).

• Back, Elisa (2019) Inferring mental states from dynamic faces in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: insights from eye-tracking. Child Development, 90(5), pp. 1589-1597. ISSN (print) 0009-3920.
• Back, E. & Jordan, T.R (2014). Revealing variations in perception of mental states from dynamic facial expressions: a cautionary note.4 PloS one, 9(1), e84395. ISSN (online) 1932-6203.
• Hanley, Mary, Riby, Deborah M., Caswell, Stephen, Rooney, Sinead and Back, Elisa (2013) Looking and thinking: how individuals with Williams syndrome make judgements about mental states. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(12), pp. 4466-4476. ISSN (print) 0891-4222
• Back, E. & Apperly. I. A (2010). Two sources of evidence on the non-automaticity of true and false belief ascription. Cognition, 115(1), 54-70.
• Riby, Deborah M. and Back, Elisa (2010) Can individuals with Williams syndrome interpret mental states from moving faces? Neuropsychologia, 48(7), pp. 1914-1922. ISSN (print) 0028-3932
• Back, Elisa, Jordan, Timothy R. and Thomas, Sharon M. (2009) The recognition of mental states from dynamic and static facial expressions. Visual Cognition, 17(8), pp. 1271-1286. ISSN (print) 1350-6285
• Uller, C., Urquhart, C., Lewis, J. & Berntsen, M. (2013). Ten-month-old infants' reaching choices for 'more': the relationship between inter-stimulus distance and number. Frontiers, 4, 1-5.Uller, C. (2008). Developmental and evolutionary considerations on numerical cognition. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 6:4, 237-253.
• El-Asam, Aiman, Katz, Adrienne, Street, Cathy, Nazar, Nijina M. and Livanou, Maria (2021) Children's services for the digital age : a qualitative study into current procedures and online risks among service users. Children and Youth Services Review, 122, p. 105872. ISSN (print) 0190-7409
• Samara, Muthanna, Da Silva Nascimento, Bruna, El-Asam, Aiman, Hammuda, Sara and Khattab, Nabil (2021) How can bullying victimisation lead to lower academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the mediating role of cognitive-motivational factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), e2209. ISSN (online) 1660-4601
• Samara, Muthanna, Nascimento, Bruna Da Silva, El Asam, Aiman, Smith, Peter, Hammuda, Sara, Morsi, Hisham and Al-Muhannadi, Hamda (2020) Practitioners' perceptions, attitudes, and challenges around bullying and cyberbullying. International Journal of Emotional Education, 12(2), pp. 8-25. ISSN (online) 2073-7629.
• Livanou, Maria, D'Souza, Sophie, Lane, Rebecca, La Plante, Breanna and Singh, Swaran P. (2021) Challenges and facilitators during transitions from adolescent medium secure units to adult services in England: interviews with mental healthcare professionals. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, ISSN (print) 0894-587X (Epub Ahead of Print)
• Livanou, Maria, Singh, Swaran P, Liapi, Fani and Furtado, Vivek (2020) Mapping transitional care-pathways among young people discharged from adolescent forensic medium secure units in England. Medicine, Science and the Law, 60(1), pp. 45-53. ISSN (print) 0025-8024
• Livanou, Maria, Lane, Rebecca, D'Souza, Sophie and Singh, Swaran (2020) A retrospective case note review of young people in transition from adolescent medium secure units to adult services. Journal of Forensic Practice, 22(3), pp. 161-172. ISSN (print) 2050-8794
• Livanou, Maria, Furtado, Vivek, Winsper, Catherine, Silvester, Annabelle and Singh, Swaran P. (2019) Prevalence of mental disorders and symptoms among incarcerated youth : a meta-analysis of 30 studies. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 18(4), pp. 400-414. ISSN (print) 1499-9013
• Prior, J. (2020) Understanding how young people perceive acne and acne treatments. British Journal of Dermatology, 183(2), pp. 208-209. ISSN (print) 0007-0963
• Nikcevic, Ana V., Dodd, Zoe, Prior, Jess, O'Gorman, Neil, Poon, Liona C. and Nicolaides, Kypros H. (2019) Reasons for accepting or declining participation in the ASPRE trial : a qualitative study with women at high-risk of preterm pre-eclampsia. Prenatal Diagnosis, 39(12), pp. 1127-1135. ISSN (print) 0197-3851
• Prior, Jess (2017) Qualitative study of online discussion forums about acne [Commentary]. British Journal of Dermatology, 177(3), p. 616. ISSN (print) 0007-0963Prior, Jessica and Khadaroo, Ameerah (2015) 'I sort of balance it out'. Living with facial acne in emerging adulthood. Journal of health psychology, 20(9), pp. 1154-1165. ISSN (print) 1359-1053
• Foody, Mairead, Samara, Muthanna and O'Higgins Norman, James (2020) Bullying by siblings and peers : poly-setting victimization and the association with problem behaviours and depression. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(S1), pp. 138-157. ISSN (print) 0007-0998
• Samara, Muthanna, Hammuda, Sara, Vostanis, Panos, El-Khodary, Basel and Al-Dewik, Nader (2020) Children's prolonged exposure to the toxic stress of war trauma in the Middle East. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 371, m3155. ISSN (print) 1759-2151
• Ataullahjan, Anushka, Samara, Muthanna, Betancourt, Theresa S. and Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. (2020) Mitigating toxic stress in children affected by conflict and displacement. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 371, m2876. ISSN (print) 1759-2151
• El-Khodary, Basel and Samara, Muthanna (2019) The mediating role of trait emotional intelligence, prosocial behaviour, parental support and parental psychological control on the relationship between war trauma, and PTSD and depression. Journal of Research in Personality, 81, pp. 246-256. ISSN (print) 0092-6566
• Samara, Muthanna, Foody, Mairead, Gobel, Kristin, Altawil, Mohamed and Scheithauer, Herbert (2019) Do cross-national and ethnic group bullying comparisons represent reality? Testing instruments for structural equivalence and structural isomorphism. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, p. 1621. ISSN (online) 1664-1078.
• Samara, M., Wolke, D., & Marlow N. (2008). Pervasive Behaviour problems at six years of age in a whole population sample of children born at 25 weeks of gestation or less. Pediatrics, 122(3), 562-573.
• Lereya, S., Samara, M., & Wolke, D. (2013) Meta analysis on parenting behaviour and victimisation at school. Child Abuse & Neglect, S0145-2134(13)00073-2. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.03.001.
• Theobald, Delphine (2021) Violence against prostitutes and non-prostitutes : an analysis of frequency, variety and severity. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, ISSN (print) 0886-2605 (In Press)
• Shakoor, Sania, Theobald, Delphine and Farrington, David P. (2020) Intergenerational continuity of Intimate Partner Violence perpetration : an investigation of possible mechanisms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, ISSN (print) 0886-2605 (Epub Ahead of Print)
• Schoeler, Tabea, Theobald, Delphine, Pingault, Jean-Baptiste, Farrington, David, Coid, Jeremy and Bhattacharyya, Sagnik (2018) Developmental sensitivity to cannabis use patterns and risk for Major Depressive Disorder in mid-life : findings from 40 years of follow-up. Psychological Medicine, 48(13), pp. 2169-2176. ISSN (print) 0033-2917
• Jennings, Wesley G., Okeem, Chidike, Piquero, Alex R., Sellers, Christine S., Theobald, Delphine and Farrington, David P. (2017) Dating and intimate partner violence among young persons ages 15-30 : evidence from a systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 33, pp. 107-125. ISSN (print) 1359-1789
• Theobald, Delphine, Farrington, David P., Coid, Jeremy W. and Piquero, Alex R. (2016) A longitudinal analysis of the criminal careers of IPV offender subtypes : results from a prospective survey of males. Violence and Victims, 31(6), pp. 999-1020. ISSN (print) 0886-6708
• Theobald, Delphine and Farrington, David P. (2016) Editorial : Advancing knowledge about dating violence. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 26(4), pp. 225-228. ISSN (print) 0957-9664