Overview
Research summary
My core research area is social development, with a focus on children's interactions with family members and friends in relation to their developing understanding of the minds of themselves and others. My current projects include a longitudinal and mixed-methods study investigating the social, emotional, and cognitive correlates of childhood humour, and pathways by which humour may attenuate the impact of stressful life experiences on wellbeing in childhood. I also work on the Wales Adoption Study which aims to develop understanding of the early support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families in collaboration with the Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit in the Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science.
Teaching summary
I contribute to teaching on the BSc in Psychology Level 5 Developmental and Social Psychology undergraduate modules. I also supervise final year research projects.
At postgraduate level, I am the Placement Co-ordinator for the MSc in Psychology. I also contribute to teaching and supervise dissertation projects on the MSc in Children's Psychological Disorders.
Biography
Undergraduate education
2013: BSc Psychology with Professional Placement, Cardiff University
Postgraduate education
2017: PhD Developmental and Health Psychology, Cardiff University
Teaching
2020 - present: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2016 - 2020: Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Employment
2021 - present: Lecturer, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2020 - 2021: Lecturer and Research Associate, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2019 - 2020: Research Associate, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2018 - 2019: Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
2017 - 2018: Research Associate, School of Psychology, Cardiff University
2016: Research Assistant, South East Wales Trials Unit, School of Medicine, Cardiff University
2011 - 2012: Research Assistant, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
Honours and awards
2020: "Honk, honk, burp burp!" Is humour a marker of children's understanding of minds? British Psychological Society Undergraduate Research Assistantship Scheme, supervising Nisha Johnson.
2019: Profiling the Neurodevelopment of Adopted Children. British Psychological Society Undergraduate Research Assistantship Scheme, supervising Maisie Lo.
2018: British Psychological Society Early Career Conference Bursary.
2017: Positive Affect in Mother-Infant Interactions. Cardiff University Research Opportunities Programme.
2017: British Psychological Society Postgraduate Study Visit Scheme to Concordia University, Montreal.
2017: Cardiff University School of Psychology Hadyn Ellis Prize for Best Doctoral Dissertation.
Speaking engagements
- Society for Research in Child Development Learning through Play and Imagination Conference, 2nd April 2022 (Talk)
Japan Society for Developmental Psychology Conference, 19th February 2021 (Virtual Symposium). - Centre for Research in Human Development Conference, Montreal, Canada, 24th January 2020 (Talk).
- BPS Developmental Section Conference, Stoke on Trent, 5th September 2019 (Convenor of symposium).
- European Conference for Developmental Psychology, Athens, 31st August 2019 (Symposium).
- BPS Developmental Section Conference, Liverpool, 13th September 2018 (Talk).
- Population Health Conference, Wales, 19th June 2018 (Talk).
- Life History, Paris, 30th May 2018 (Talk).
- World Association for Infant Mental Health, Rome, 29th May 2018 (Talk).
Publications
2023
- Howe, N., Paine, A. L., Leach, J., Magazin, E., Gilmore, V. and DeHart, G. 2023. “The chug is coming through!” “There’s two chuggas!”: A longitudinal study of the social function of imitation in children’s play with siblings and friends. Social Development
- Petrican, R., Paine, A. L., Escott-Price, V. and Shelton, K. H. 2023. Overlapping brain correlates of superior cognition among children at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and/or major depressive disorder. Scientific Reports 13(1), pp. 984. (10.1038/s41598-023-28057-6)
2022
- Paine, A. L., Hashmi, S., Howe, N., Johnson, N., Scott, M. and Hay, D. F. 2022. “A pirate goes nee-nor-nee-nor!” Humor with siblings in middle childhood: a window to social understanding?. Developmental Psychology 58(10), pp. 1986-1998. (10.1037/dev0001403)
- Hashmi, S., Paine, A. L., Johansen, M. K., Robinson, C. and Hay, D. F. 2022. Engaged in play: Seven-year-olds’ engagement with the play frame when playing with toy figures and their engagement with the fictional world of a video game. Cognitive Development 63, article number: 101230. (10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101230)
- Waters, C. S., Cannings-John, R., Channon, S., Lugg-Widger, F., Robling, M. and Paine, A. L. 2022. The impact of a specialist home-visiting intervention on the language outcomes of young mothers and their children: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMC Psychology 10, article number: 224. (10.1186/s40359-022-00926-1)
- Anthony, R., Paine, A., Westlake, M., Lowthian, E. and Shelton, K. 2022. Patterns of adversity and post-traumatic stress among children adopted from care. Child Abuse and Neglect 130(P2), article number: 104795. (10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104795)
- Hay, D. F., Paine, A. and Robinson, C. 2022. Young children's cooperation and conflict with other children. In: Lockman, J. ed. Advances in Child Development and Behavior., Vol. 63. Advances in Child Development and Behavior Elsevier, pp. 225-248., (10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.04.004)
- Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Paine, A. L. and Gerson, S. A. 2022. Doll play prompts social thinking and social talking: representations of internal state language in the brain. Developmental Science 25(2), article number: e13163. (10.1111/desc.13163)
- Howe, N., Paine, A. L., Ross, H. S. and Recchia, H. 2022. Sibling relations in early and middle childhood. In: Smith, P. K. and Hart, C. H. eds. The Handbook of Childhood Social Development [3rd ed.]. Wiley-Blackwell
- Paine, A. L., Fahey, K., Thompson, R. and Shelton, K. H. 2022. Adoptive parents’ finances and employment status: a 5-year longitudinal study european child & adolescent psychiatry. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (10.1007/s00787-022-01946-3)
2021
- Paine, A. L., Howe, N., Gilmore, V., Karajian, G. and DeHart, G. 2021. “Goosebump man. That’s funny!” Humor with siblings and friends from early to middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 77, article number: 101321. (10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101321)
- Meakings, S., Paine, A. L. and Shelton, K. H. 2021. Birth sibling relationships after adoption: the experience of contact with brothers and sisters living elsewhere. British Journal of Social Work 51(7), pp. 2478-2499. (10.1093/bjsw/bcaa053)
- Perra, O., Paine, A. L. and Hay, D. F. 2021. Continuity and change in anger and aggressiveness from infancy to childhood: The protective effects of positive parenting. Development and Psychopathology 33(3), pp. 937-956. (10.1017/S0954579420000243)
- Paine, A. L., Perra, O., Anthony, R. and Shelton, K. H. 2021. Charting the trajectories of adopted children’s emotional and behavioral problems: The impact of early adversity and post-adoptive parental warmth. Development and Psychopathology 33(3), pp. 922-936. (10.1017/S0954579420000231)
- Paine, A. L., van Goozen, S. H. M., Burley, D. T., Anthony, R. and Shelton, K. H. 2021. Facial emotion recognition in adopted children. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (10.1007/s00787-021-01829-z)
- Hashmi, S., Paine, A. L. and Hay, D. F. 2021. Seven-year-olds’ references to internal states when playing with toy figures and a video game. Infant and Child Development 30(3), article number: e2223. (10.1002/icd.2223)
- Hay, D. F. et al. 2021. Prosocial and Aggressive Behavior: A Longitudinal Study. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 86(2), pp. 7-103. (10.1111/mono.12427)
- Paine, A. L., Fahey, K., Anthony, R. E. and Shelton, K. H. 2021. Early adversity predicts adoptees’ enduring emotional and behavioral problems in childhood. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 30, pp. 721-732. (10.1007/s00787-020-01553-0)
- Paine, A. L., Karajian, G., Hashmi, S., Persram, R. J. and Howe, N. 2021. “Where’s your bum brain?” Humor, social understanding, and sibling relationship quality in early childhood. Social Development 30(2), pp. 592-611. (10.1111/sode.12488)
- Paine, A. L., Burley, D., Anthony, R., van Goozen, S. and Shelton, K. 2021. The neurocognitive profiles of children adopted from care and their emotional and behavioral problems at home and school. Child Neuropsychology 27(1), pp. 17-36. (10.1080/09297049.2020.1776241)
- Howe, N., Paine, A. L. and Leach, J. 2021. “Broccoli makes my feelings feel good”: Communication and emotions in conversations within children’s close relationships. In: Altarriba, J., Schiewer, G. and Chin, N. B. eds. Handbook on Language and Emotion Volume 2. Language and Emotion/Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science (HSK)
2020
- Paine, A. L., Cannings-John, R., Channon, S., Lugg-Widger, F., Waters, C. S. and Robling, M. 2020. Assessing the impact of a family nurse-led intervention on young mothers’ references to internal states. Infant Mental Health Journal 41(4), pp. 463-476. (10.1002/imhj.21849)
2019
- Anthony, R. E., Paine, A. L. and Shelton, K. H. 2019. Depression and anxiety symptoms of british adoptive parents: a prospective four-wave longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(24), pp. -., article number: 5153. (10.3390/ijerph16245153)
- Paine, A. L., Howe, N., Karajian, G., Hay, D. F. and DeHart, G. 2019. 'H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, PEE! Get it? Pee!': Siblings' shared humour in childhood. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 37(3), pp. 336-353. (10.1111/bjdp.12277)
- Paine, A. L., Hashmi, S., Roberts, S., Fyfield, R. and Hay, D. F. 2019. Concurrent associations between mothers' references to internal states and children's social understanding in middle childhood. Social Development 28(3), pp. 529-548. (10.1111/sode.12356)
- Anthony, R. E., Paine, A. L. and Shelton, K. H. 2019. Adverse childhood experiences of children adopted from care: The importance of adoptive parental warmth for future child adjustment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(12), article number: 2212. (10.3390/ijerph16122212)
2018
- Paine, A. L., Pearce, H., van Goozen, S. H., de Sonneville, L. M. and Hay, D. F. 2018. Late, but not early, arriving younger siblings foster firstborns' understanding of second-order false belief. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 166, pp. 251-265. (10.1016/j.jecp.2017.08.007)
2017
- Paine, A. 2017. Explaining the influence of younger siblings on firstborns’ understanding of minds in middle childhood: a longitudinal investigation of the mother- firstborn relationship. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Teaching
I contribute to teaching on the BSc in Psychology Level 5 Developmental and Social Psychology undergraduate modules. I also supervise final year research projects.
At postgraduate level, I am the Placement Co-ordinator for the MSc in Psychology. I also contribute to teaching and supervise dissertation projects on the MSc in Children's Psychological Disorders.
Research Summary
My core research area is social development, with a focus on children's interactions with family members and friends in relation to their developing understanding of the minds of themselves and others. My current projects include a longitudinal and mixed-methods study investigating the social, emotional, and cognitive correlates of childhood humour, and pathways by which humour may attenuate the impact of stressful life experiences on wellbeing in childhood. I also work on the Wales Adoption Study which aims to develop understanding of the early support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families in collaboration with the Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit in the Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science.
Funding Awards
Paine, A. L., Howe, N., & Rothschild, N. (2023-2024). Harnessing the Power of Humour in Primary School Education. Welsh Government.
Shelton, K. H. & Paine, A. L. (2022-2023). Supporting the mental health of adopted children: The protective effects of warm parenting. Welsh Government.
Paine, A. L. (2022). A Very Funny Summer! Holiday Enrichment Programme, Food and Fun. Cardiff University Civic Mission.
Paine, A. L., van Goozen, S., & Shelton, K. (2022-2025). ESRC-DTP Collaborative Studentship.
Paine, A. L., Robinson, C., Thomas, K., & Smilie, I. (2021-2022). Laughing all the Way to Better Wellbeing in Childhood. Innovation for All Civic Mission Fund.
Gambi, C., Paine, A. L., Thomas, K., Hughes, A., Langley, K., Jones, C., Gerson, S., Shelton, K., & Smilie, I. (2021-2022). Co-producing developmental science: Working with educators and children to set priorities for research that matters. Innovation for All Public Engagement Fund.
Paine, A. L. (2021). UKRI COVID-19 Grant Allocation.
Shelton, K. H. & Paine, A.L. (2020-2021). The Wales Adoption Cohort Study. Welsh Government.
Paine, A. L., Mitchell, P., & Howe, N. (2020-2024). Humour in Childhood: Pathways to Better Wellbeing. Economic and Social Research Council New Investigator Award.
Paine, A. L. (2019). Humour in Children's Close Relationships. The Leverhulme Trust Study Abroad Studentship.
Paine, A. L. (2019). L'humour dans les relations proches des enfants. FRQNT Postdoctoral Quebec Merit Scholarship Programme for Foreign Nationals.
Mitchell, P., et al. (2019). Inferring others’ inner states: Different developmental trends across Britain and Japan? ESRC-AHRC UK-Japan SSH Connections Grant.
Paine, A. L. (2013-2017). School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 4 year funded PhD studentship.
Media
Play and Humour in Schools, Play Wales https://playwales.org.uk/eng/playandhumour
'Humour in Play.' Playful Childhoods, Play Wales https://www.playfulchildhoods.wales/blog/humour-in-play
‘The Wales Adoption Cohort Study: childhood risk and resilience.’ Research Outreach https://researchoutreach.org/articles/wales-adoption-cohort-study-childhood-risk-resilience/
‘Adopted children can experience lasting mental health problems.’ NIHR Alerts https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/adopted-children-can-experience-lasting-mental-health-problems/
‘Humour in lessons? You must be joking! (No really, you must).' Times Education Supplement https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/humour-lessons-you-must-be-joking-no-really-you-must
‘New research examines the use of humour in middle childhood.’ Concordia University https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2019/03/12/new-research-examines-the-use-of-humour-in-middle-childhood.html
'How joking around with your brothers and sisters shapes your sense of humour.' The Conversation https://theconversation.com/how-joking-around-with-your-brothers-and-sisters-shapes-your-sense-of-humour-110591
Research Groups
Developmental & Health Psychology
Cardiff Child Development Study (CCDS)
Supervision
I am interested in supervising research projects in the area of developmental psychology with a particular focus on children's interactions with family members and friends in relation to their developing understanding of the minds of themselves and others.
If you are interested in applying for a PhD, or would like further information regarding my postgraduate research, please contact me directly (contact details above).
Past projects
Primary supervisor
Catherine Sheehan: School of Psychology, Cardiff University. Pretend Play and Social and Emotional Development in Childhood (2021-present).
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/research-students/view/2575833-
Lydia Tian: ESRC 1+3 studentship (2022-2026): Emotion Recognition in Looked After Children in Wales: An Investigation and Intervention Study