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Dione Healy

Email dione.healey@otago.ac.nz
Tel 64 3 479 7620

Associate Professor Dione Healey's broad research area is in childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She is currently assessing the effectiveness of a novel early intervention programme that she has developed along with colleagues in New York ENGAGE: Enhancing Neurobehavioural Gains with the Aid of Games and Exercise. The programme is focused on developing self-control skills in hyperactive preschoolers.

She is the recipient of the NZ Psychological Society's Goddard Award for Achievement and Excellence in Research and Scholarship; and the University's Early Career Award for Distinction in Research. She has also been awarded an Emerging Researcher Grant from the Health Research Council to conduct a study comparing ENGAGE to a parent behavioural management training programme, Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme).

Dione joined the Department of Psychology in 2008. She graduated with her PhD and Diploma in Clinical Psychology from the University of Canterbury in 2006. She then spent 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow at Queens College of the City University of New York, before returning to New Zealand.

Teaching

Research Interests

  • Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • Development of self-control
  • Interactions between child temperament and parent characteristics and their role in the functioning of children with ADHD
  • The role of neurocognitive functioning in the expression and maintenance of ADHD symptoms across the lifespan
  • Enhancing Neurobehavioural Gains with the Aid of Games and Exercise – ENGAGE

Find out more about Associate Professor Healey's research interests

Publications

Barrett-Young, A., Martin, R., Clifford, A. E., Schaughency, E., McLauchlan, J., & Healey, D. (2023). Assessment of self-regulation at school entry: A literature review of existing screening tools and suitability for the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/07342829231219291

Klenberg, L., Teivaanmäki, S., Närhi, V., Kiuru, N., & Healey, D. (2023). Effectiveness of ENGAGE in reducing difficulties in everyday executive functions among Finnish preschoolers: A randomized controlled trial. Child Neuropsychology, 29(8), 1341-1361. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2164568

Taylor, R. W., Haszard, J. J., Meredith-Jones, K. A., Azeem, A. A., Galland, B. C., Heath, A.-L. M., Taylor, B. J., & Healey, D. (2023). Associations between activity, sedentary and sleep behaviours and psychosocial health in young children: A longitudinal compositional time-use study. Journal of Activity, Sedentary & Sleep Behaviors, 2, 3. doi: 10.1186/s44167-022-00011-3

Healey, D., Milne, B., & Healey, M. (2022). Adaption and implementation of the engage programme within the early childhood curriculum. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 21580. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-25655-8

Fangupo, L., Haszard, J., Galland, B., Taylor, B., Heath, A.-L., Healey, D., Meredith-Jones, K., … Taylor, R. (2022). Investigating the moderators and mediators of an effective sleep intervention in the Prevention of Overweight in Infancy (POI) randomized controlled trial: Exploratory analyses. Clinical Obesity, 12, e12516. doi: 10.1111/cob.12516

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