Dr Delyse Hutchinson

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre/
University of New South Wales, NSW
Mental Health Research Grant 2012

Dr Delyse Hutchinson is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at the University of New South Wales. Her current major research focus is on understanding the impact of early exposure to parental alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use on child development and family functioning. Dr Hutchinson has been awarded a Training Fellowship in Psychiatric Research from the NSW Institute of Psychiatry and a UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship. Since completing her PhD in 2005, Dr Hutchinson has published 25 research papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals and 15 additional reports, reviews and monographs. Dr Hutchinson has also presented research findings at major conferences in the mental health and substance use disciplines. In addition, she is Co-Convenor of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) Longitudinal Studies Network which aims to enhance coordination and collaboration between current longitudinal studies in Australia focused on or involving children and young people. 
 
Dr Hutchinson is Chief Investigator and Scientific Director of the Triple B Birth Cohort Study, a longitudinal study of 2,000 Australian families and their young infants, which was funded $1.9 million through the NHMRC Project Grant Scheme (2010-2013). The study aims to examine the impact of parental substance use in the prenatal period on infant development and family functioning. The initial pilot of the Triple B Study was funded by a 2007 Goldstar Award from the University of New South Wales. To date, 700 families have joined the study, with a goal of 800 families by the end of 2011. Dr Hutchinson is also an investigator on a collaborative research project with the National Drug Research Institute in WA conducting formative intervention work with women using alcohol during pregnancy.
 
Dr Hutchinson is also a Chief Investigator on a recently funded Australian Research Council Discovery Grant which commenced in 2010. The five year project will establish a cohort of families with young adolescents to determine how best to educate and introduce young people to alcohol so as to prevent harmful and risky patterns of drinking.
 
Dr Hutchinson has also worked as a clinical psychologist since 2002 specialising in the assessment and treatment of psychological issues relating to pregnancy, postnatal adjustment and parenting during infancy and early childhood. She is a member of New South Wales Psychologists Registration Board, the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. Dr Hutchinson presently supervises eight postgraduate research students (including four PhD students).

SUMMARY OF PROJECT:
 
Impact of parental substance use on family functioning and child development in an Australian Birth Cohort of 2,000 families: Pilot study proposal for the Wave III follow-up of Preschoolers
 
The overall objective of this project is to pilot a third wave of the Triple B birth cohort study to examine family functioning and child development in families of preschool age children. The aims, research design and progress of the Triple B study are described below to provide a context for this proposal, followed by the four specific aims of the current proposal.
 
The Triple B Study
The Triple B Study (Bumps, Babies and Beyond) is the first large-scale Australian birth cohort study to examine the effects of substance use in pregnant women and their partners during the prenatal period on infant development and family functioning. The Triple B study specifically aims to:
 
  1. Identify substance use patterns in a cohort of pregnant women and their partners during the prenatal period and the characteristics associated with substance use.
  2. Examine the relationship of maternal and partner substance use with pregnancy outcomes for mothers and their infants.
  3. Determine the extent to which the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs in pregnant women and their partners predict problems in: (a) infant development (i.e., physical, cognitive, behavioural and emotional); and (b), family functioning (i.e., marital/intimate partner relationship quality, conflict and violence, parenting behaviour and parent-infant relationship quality.
The Triple B study commenced in 2010 and will run for four years until 2013.  The first phase of the study was piloted in 2007/2008. The piloting process proved to be extremely valuable in evaluating and improving the research instruments and demonstrating feasibility. The 12 month follow-up of the pilot families (N= 67) has been completed. An additional 483 new families have been recruited into the Triple B study since larger scale recruitment commenced in mid 2010, with the target of 800 families set for the end of 2010. Seventy-five percent of eligible partners have participated in the study to date. This rate of participation is equivalent to partner participation rates reported in other large-scale longitudinal studies such as the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Retention of families at the Wave II 12 month assessment has been excellent (93% of families).
 
The Triple B study provides a unique and important opportunity to follow the longer-term health and development of participating families as the children approach three years of age – a critical time for development. The aims of the current project are to:
 
1.    Pilot the research methodology for a new assessment wave of the Triple B study when the children reach three years of age.
2.    Examine the outcomes for an existing cohort of families participating in the Triple B study over a longer time-frame, via interviews, survey and development assessment. These families formed our original pilot group for the Baseline and 12 months (Wave II) assessments of the Triple B study.
3.    Test the feasibility of following up families affected by substance use in a longitudinal study.