Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (The University of Western Australia)
Research Field: Adolescent Mental Health
Dr Robinson’s research aims to prevent mental health problems before they start. Her research aims to find out what sorts of events during pregnancy determine whether or not a mental health problem will develop and how these experiences cause poorer mental health. Monique’s research has already found numerous risk factors present in the prenatal period that are linked to an increased risk for mental health problems throughout childhood, including stress, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and hypertension. By focusing on potential interventions as well as examining potential causes, her research has significance at both theoretical and practical levels for understanding the effect of common exposures on early child mental health pathways.
Monique completed a Consumer and Community Participation workshop in 2009, is trained as a media
spokesperson on child mental health matters and a scientific advisor to the Commissioner for Children
and Young People. She has conducted interviews with the Australian and international media and her been covered in numerous media including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Weekend Australian, The West Australian, Science Network WA, Radio National and TV3 New Zealand. She also volunteers at the Telethon Kids’ Carnival to promote science and child health research to the community and regularly post research findings on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.