Dr Nicky Wright PhD
Lecturer
My profile
Biography
First Degree BSc, graduated 2009: Psychology (Hons) 1st Class, University of Chester (Department of Psychology). MSc graduated 2010: Research Methods in Psychology Distinction, University of Liverpool (Department of Psychology). PhD graduated 2018: Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool (Department of Psychology)
My research focuses on identifying the mechanisms underlying mental health problems in childhood and adolescence. My research combines multiple levels of explanation (biological, social, individual) using multi-method of data (interview, observational, experimental, biological, survey data). I am particularly interested in the role of relationships (parent-child, peer, romantic) in the intergenerational transmission of mental health problems. My post-doctoral work was completed in the Biostatistics Department at Kings College London and I use advanced statistical methods to characterise developmental pathways to mental health problems and to refine measurement of constructs. My PhD and postdoctoral work focused on behavioural problems in childhood, and driven by the current mental health crisis in adolescence, my recent work focuses on adolescent emotional and behavioural problems. I mainly work with longitudinal child development cohorts, I am co-investigator on the Wirral Child Health & Development Study (WCHADS) and work with a number of other international cohorts. I joined the Psychology Department at MMU in October 2021.
Interests and expertise
My main program of work focuses on understanding how relationship experiences transmit risk or confer resilience for mental health problems, including parent-child relationships, friendships and romantic relationships. This includes understanding the processes in the inter-generational transmission of inter-partner abuse from parent to adolescent relationships, and the role of parent-child relationships in conferring risk and resilience for mental health problems. More broadly my research interests lie in understanding mechanisms for the emergence and maintenance of mental health problems using longitudinal study designs. I am interested in understanding the risk and protective factors for the broad spectrum of mental health difficulties, including behavioural/antisocial, emotional and personality disturbances. My work also involves examining whether processes operate across cultures or are culture specific and across populations of typically developing and autistic individuals.
I have expertise in statistical analysis, in particular longitudinal modelling and latent variable modelling. I also have expertise in longitudinal study design and in co-ordinating longitudinal research studies. I also have expertise in harmonising and jointly analysing different datasets.
Projects
I am an investigator on the adolescent waves on the Wirral Child Health and Development Study (WCHADS), a prospective birth cohort of mothers, fathers and their first born children. Wirral Child Health and Development Study: First Steps - Institute of Population Health - University of Liverpool
I was awarded a British Academy grant to conduct a wave of assessment on the sample at age 13 years to examine whether friendship victimisation is an early risk marker for later relationships characterised by Inter-Partner Violence (IPV)
Professor Rebecca Pearson (Professor Rebecca Pearson | Manchester Metropolitan University (mmu.ac.uk) and and I are currently running a study on the WCHADS sample to pilot the use of head-cameras to assess adolescent-parent interaction, as part of a larger programme of work led by Professor Pearson on understanding adolescent-parent interaction. Teencam Pilot Study - Institute of Population Health - University of Liverpool
I work with a number of other international longitudinal studies including:
The Bangalore Child Health and Development Study (BCHADS), a sister cohort to WCHADS of mothers and children based in Bangalore India. Bangalore Child Health and Development Study - Institute of Population Health - University of Liverpool
The Pathways to ASD study, a multi-site inception cohort of children with autism in Canada. The Pathways in ASD study examines how children with ASD grow and develop. | Pathways in Autism Spectrum Disorders (asdpathways.ca)
The La Sabana Parent-Child Study, a longitudinal study of mothers and children in Colombia
The Matter of the First Friendship Study, a longitudinal study of children in Oslo, Norway.The Matter of the First Friendship. A 10-year follow-up - Department of Psychology (uio.no)
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Other projects:
Quebec 1000 (Q1k), a unique initiative that draws on both autism expertise in Québec with autistic people’s and their families’ experiences to accelerate the discovery process and transform care and services. Welcome to Q1K Families
Feasibility randomised controlled trial of the Caregiver Skill Training Program for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities in Canada led by Mayada Elsabbagh, McGill University Mayada Elsabbagh, PhD | The Neuro - McGill University
Global Report Survey on the impact of Covid-19 on families of children with disabilities, part of an ongoing initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Autism Speaks to document the experiences of caregivers of children around the world.
The societal pressure of the ‘Breast is best’ message: Investigating the impact of breastfeeding difficulties on mental health in new mothers, led by Dr Elizabeth Braithwaite (Dr Elizabeth Braithwaite | Manchester Metropolitan University (mmu.ac.uk))
Teaching
I teach level 4 and 5 on the undergraduate BSc in Psychology at MMU.
I contribute to teaching and supervision of clinical trainees who are part of the Transforming Autism Care Consortium (TACC) research network at McGill University, Canada.
Supervision
I supervise MSc research dissertations on the MSc in Psychological Wellbeing and MSc in Childhood Development at MMU. I have past PhD supervision experience and welcome applications from prospective PhD students.
Current Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Dclin) students:
Elystan Roberts at the University of Bath “Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of mental health difficulties in a longitudinal cohort study of autistic youth”
James McGuirk at the University of Liverpool “A prospective longitudinal investigation into early childhood predictors of adolescent self-harm at age 13; does parenting quality at age 9 moderate the risk?”
Ella Sollomon at the University of Liverpool “Evaluating the role of antenatal predictors of postnatal depression in men during the perinatal period: a focus on relationship quality”
Research outputs
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Journal articles
Katalifos, A., Elsabbagh, M., Yusuf, A., Yamaguchi, S., Scorah, J., Wright, N., Steiman, M., Shih, A., Shikako, K. (2024) 'Alignment of Canada's COVID-19 policy response with barriers and facilitators for coping reported by caregivers of youth with developmental delays, disorders, and disabilities.' Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5
Wright, N., Pearson, R.M., Crook, D., Bond, A., Jewell, T. (2024) 'Through each other's eyes: initial results and protocol for the co-design of an observational measure of adolescent-parent interaction using first-person perspective.' Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2
Obando, D., Hill, J., Wright, N. (2024) 'The Moderating Role of Maternal Praise and Positivity in the Association Between Callous-Unemotional (CU) Traits and Later Aggression: A Prospective Study in Preschool Children in Colombia.' Child Psychiatry and Human Development,
Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Refberg-Brown, M., Crook, D., Kehl, S., Pickles, A. (2024) 'COVID-19 pandemic impact on adolescent mental health: a reassessment accounting for development.' European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,
Wright, N., Courchesne, V., Pickles, A., Bedford, R., Duku, E., Kerns, C.M., Bennett, T., Georgiades, S., Hill, J., Richard, A., Sharp, H., Smith, I.M., Vaillancourt, T., Zaidman-Zait, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M. (2023) 'A longitudinal comparison of emotional, behavioral and attention problems in autistic and typically developing children.' Psychological Medicine, pp. 1-13.
O'Reilly, C., Huberty, S., van Noordt, S., Desjardins, J., Wright, N., Scorah, J., Webb, S.J., Elsabbagh, M., BASIS team, (2023) 'EEG functional connectivity in infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism spectrum disorder.' Molecular Autism, 14(1) pp. 37-37.
Bozicevic, L., Hill, J., Chandra, P.S., Omirou, A., Holla, C., Wright, N., Sharp, H. (2023) 'Cross-cultural differences in early caregiving: levels of mind-mindedness and instruction in UK and India.' Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2pp. 1124883-1124883.
Wright, N., Sharp, H., Gay, J., Pickles, A., Hill, J. (2023) 'Turning to friends in preference to parents for support in early adolescence: does this contribute to the gender difference in depressive symptoms?.' Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2pp. 1150493-1150493.
Braithwaite, E., Cole, J., Murgatroyd, C., Wright, N., O'Farrelly, C., Barker, B., Ramchandani, P. (2023) 'Child DNA methylation in a randomized controlled trial of a video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting and sensitive discipline (VIPP-SD).' Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2pp. 1175299-1175299.
Hill, J., Wright, N., Sharp, H., Pickles, A., Steele, H. (2023) 'On the risks of secure attachment in infancy: childhood irritability and adolescent depression predicted by secure attachment and high approach behaviours at 14-months towards a caregiver living with inter-parental violence.' Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2pp. 1143125-1143125.
Carter Leno, V., Wright, N., Pickles, A., Bedford, R., Zaidman-Zait, A., Kerns, C., Zwaigenbaum, L., Duku, E., Bennett, T., Georgiades, S., Smith, I.M., Richards, A., Vaillancourt, T., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M., Pathways in ASD Study Team, (2023) 'Longitudinal associations between early childhood irritability and adolescent depression symptoms in autistic children are mediated by peer relationships but not educational engagement.' Development and Psychopathology, pp. 1-11.
Gonzalez, M., Zeidan, J., Lai, J., Yusuf, A., Wright, N., Steiman, M., Karpur, A., Shih, A., Elsabbagh, M., Shikako, K. (2022) 'Socio-demographic disparities in receipt of clinical health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic for Canadian children with disability.' BMC Health Services Research, 22pp. 1434-1434.
Yusuf, A., Wright, N., Steiman, M., Gonzalez, M., Karpur, A., Shih, A., Shikako, K., Elsabbagh, M. (2022) 'Factors associated with resilience among children and youths with disability during the COVID-19 pandemic.' PLOS ONE, 17(7) pp. e0271229-e0271229.
Obando, D., Wright, N., Hill, J. (2022) 'Warmth and reciprocity with mothers, and young children's resilience to exposure to community violence in Colombia: findings from the La Sabana Parent–Child Study.' Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(1) pp. 197-205.
Pickles, A., Wright, N., Bedford, R., Steiman, M., Duku, E., Bennett, T., Georgiades, S., Kerns, C.M., Mirenda, P., Smith, I.M., Ungar, W.J., Vaillancourt, T., Waddell, C., Zaidman-Zait, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M. (2022) 'Predictors of language regression and its association with subsequent communication development in children with autism.' Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(11) pp. 1243-1251.
Carter Leno, V., Wright, N., Pickles, A., Bedford, R., Zaidman-Zait, A., Kerns, C., Mirenda, P., Zwaigenbaum, L., Duku, E., Bennett, T., Georgiades, S., Smith, I., Vaillancourt, T., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M. (2022) 'Exposure to family stressful life events in autistic children: longitudinal associations with mental health and the moderating role of cognitive flexibility.' Autism, 26(7) pp. 1656-1667.
Braithwaite, E., Sharp, H., Pickles, A., Hill, J., Wright, N. (2021) 'Breast may not always be best: Moderation of effects of postnatal depression by breastfeeding and infant sex.' Biology of Sex Differences, 12
Tesfaye, R., Wright, N., Zaidman-Zait, A., Bedford, R., Zwaigenbaum, L., Kerns, C.M., Duku, E., Mirenda, P., Bennett, T., Georgiades, S., Smith, I.M., Vaillancourt, T., Pickles, A., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M. (2021) 'Investigating longitudinal associations between parent reported sleep in early childhood and teacher reported executive functioning in school-aged children with autism.' Sleep, 44(9)
Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Pickles, A. (2021) 'Interplay between long-term vulnerability and new risk: Young adolescent and maternal mental health immediately before and during the COVID-19 pandemic..' JCPP advances, 1(1) pp. e12008-e12008.
Wright, N., Pickles, A., Sharp, H., Hill, J. (2021) 'A psychometric and validity study of callous-unemotional traits in 2.5 year old children.' Scientific Reports, 11(1)
Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Pickles, A. (2021) 'Commentary response: Addressing the scientific as well as the social‐inequalities questions ‐ Response to the commentary of Newlove‐Delgado (2021).' JCPP Advances, 1(1)
Obando, D., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Pickles, A., Fisher, L., Wright, N. (2021) 'Synergy between callous-unemotional traits and aggression in preschool children: Cross-informant and cross-cultural replication in the UK Wirral Child Health and Development Study, and the Colombian la Sabana Parent-Child Study.' Development and Psychopathology, 34(3) pp. 1079-1087.
Bedford, R., Carter Leno, V., Wright, N., Bluett-Duncan, M., Smith, T.J., Anzures, G., Pickles, A., Sharp, H., Hill, J. (2020) 'Emotion Recognition Performance in Children with Callous Unemotional Traits is Modulated by Co-occurring Autistic Traits.' Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 50(6) pp. 811-827.
Braithwaite, E., Pickles, A., Wright, N., Sharp, H., Hill, J. (2020) 'Sex-differences in foetal origins of child emotional symptoms: a test of evolutionary hypotheses in a large, general population cohort.' Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(11) pp. 1194-1202.
Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Pickles, A. (2020) 'Impact of COVID-19 on Young Adolescent Mental Health: Comparison of Depression, Anxiety and Behaviour Problems in 12 Year Olds Immediately Before and During the Pandemic in a UK Birth Cohort.'
Wright, N., Hill, J., Pickles, A., Sharp, H. (2019) 'Callous-unemotional traits, low cortisol reactivity and physical aggression in children: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study.' Translational Psychiatry, 9(1)
Wright, N., Pickles, A., Braithwaite, E.C., Sharp, H., Hill, J. (2019) 'Sex-dependent associations between maternal prenatal cortisol and child callous-unemotional traits: Findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study.' Psychoneuroendocrinology, 109pp. 1004409-1004409.
Hill, J., Pickles, A., Wright, N., Quinn, J.P., Murgatroyd, C., Sharp, H. (2019) 'Mismatched Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Behaviours: A Sex-Dependent Role for NR3C1 DNA Methylation in the Wirral Child Health and Development Study..' Cells, 8(9) pp. 943-943.
Hill, J., Pickles, A., Wright, N., Braithwaite, E., Sharp, H. (2019) 'Predictions of children’s emotionality from evolutionary and epigenetic hypotheses.' Scientific Reports, 9
Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Pickles, A. (2018) 'Maternal sensitivity to distress, attachment and the development of callous-unemotional traits in young children.' The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 59(7) pp. 790-800.
Huntley, F., Wright, N., Pickles, A., Sharp, H., Hill, J. (2018) 'Maternal mental health and child problem behaviours: Disentangling the role of depression and borderline personality dysfunction.' BJPsych Open, 3(6) pp. 300-305.
Wright, N., Hill, J., Pickles, A., Sharp, H. (2015) 'The specific role of relationship life events in the onset of depression during pregnancy and the Postpartum.' PLoS ONE, 10(12)
Bedford, R., Pickles, A., Sharp, H., Wright, N., Hill, J. (2015) 'Reduced Face Preference in Infancy: A Developmental Precursor to Callous-Unemotional Traits?.' Biological Psychiatry, 78(2) pp. 144-150.
Press and media
Article in Research Aether reporting on our public engagement event using performing arts to “bring to life” the lived experience of mental health problems from young people, parents and professionals: Publication - Research Aether
Open Access Government article reporting our public engagement on understanding parent-adolescent relationships out in the community: You Don’t Get Me: Public Responses to Mood and Behaviour Monitoring Wearable Technology (openaccessgovernment.org)
A podcast recorded with the Academy of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)’s “The Bridge” discussing the impact of Covid-19 on adolescent mental health: https://www.acamh.org/podcasts/adolescent-and-maternal-mental-health-before-during-the-pandemic-in-conversation-dr-nicola-wright/