Yr Athro Stephan Collishaw

Senior Lecturer, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences

Overview
Research focuses on the area of developmental psychopathology. It encompasses a range of risks, developmental outcomes, and novel research designs. With considerable expertise in life course epidemiology , I have particular experience in analyses of complex longitudinal datasets. Main interests include adolescent depression, resilience, links between child and adult mental health, and secular trends in child mental health.

Research
My research focuses on three main areas.

1) Mental health resilience. Many children have a high chance of developing mental health problems because they are at high familial risk (e.g. parent with recurrent depression) or because they have experienced profound social adversity (e.g. orphanhood or maltreatment). Many children in high-risk groups develop mental health problems, but some show remarkably positive developmental trajectories. Identifying protective factors that can modify the impact of risk factors is important because it can help identify new targets for prevention and intervention. My research has used longitudinal high-risk samples and prospective population cohorts to identify novel protective factors and to better understand underlying resilience mechanisms.

2) Links between child and adult mental health. Many adult mental heath problems have their origins in childhood and many childhood disorders have long-lasting effects on health and development that persist throughout the life course. Current research is examining the links between child and adult mental health in two ways: first, by examining the impact of common genetic risks early in childhood, and second, by using prospective cohort data to characterise the impact of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders on adult outcomes to mid life.

3) Time trends in child and adolescent mental health. Current research focuses on trends in children's mental health, on changes in the impact of child mental health on social and educational functioning, and on the role of antenatal and psychosocial risk factors in explaining trends in child mental health.

Date
Type

2017

Riglin, L. et al. 2017. Investigating the genetic underpinnings of early-life irritability. Translational Psychiatry 7, article number: e1241. (10.1038/tp.2017.212)
Langley, K., Collishaw, S., Williams, M. and Shelton, K. H. 2017. An investigation of changes in children′s mental health in Wales between 2007/2008 and 2012/2013. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 52, pp. 639-642. (10.1007/s00127-017-1378-9)
Eyre, O., Langley, K., Stringaris, A., Leibenluft, E., Collishaw, S. and Thapar, A. 2017. Irritability in ADHD: Associations with depression liability. Journal of Affective Disorders 215, pp. 281-287. (10.1016/j.jad.2017.03.050)
Riglin, L., Collishaw, S., Richards, A., Thapar, A., Maughan, B., O'Donovan, M. C. and Thapar, A. 2017. Schizophrenia polygenic risk score and psychotic risk detection - authors' reply. The Lancet Psychiatry 4(3), pp. 188-189. (10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30052-4)
Rice, F. et al. 2017. Antecedents of new-onset major depressive disorder in children and adolescents at high familial risk. JAMA Psychiatry 74(2), pp. 153-160. (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3140)
Stuart-Smith, J., Thapar, A., Maughan, B., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2017. Childhood hyperactivity and mood problems at mid-life: evidence from a prospective birth cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 52(1), pp. 87-94. (10.1007/s00127-016-1285-5)
Riglin, L., Collishaw, S., Richards, A., Thapar, A. K., Maughan, B., O'Donovan, M. C. and Thapar, A. 2017. Schizophrenia risk alleles and neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood: a population-based cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry 4(1), pp. 57-62. (10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30406-0)

2016

Riglin, L. et al. 2016. Association of genetic risk variants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder trajectories in the general population. JAMA Psychiatry 73(12), pp. 1285-1292. (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2817)
Bevan-Jones, R. et al. 2016. Prevalence and correlates of psychotic experiences amongst children of depressed parents. Psychiatry Research 243, pp. 81-86. (10.1016/j.psychres.2016.03.012)
Thapar, A. et al. 2016. Identifying key parent-reported symptoms for detecting depression in high risk adolescents. Psychiatry Research 242, pp. 210-217. (10.1016/j.psychres.2016.05.025)
Davidovich, S., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. K., Harold, G., Thapar, A. and Rice, F. 2016. Do better executive functions buffer the effect of current parental depression on adolescent depressive symptoms?. Journal of Affective Disorders 199, pp. 54-64. (10.1016/j.jad.2016.03.049)
Collishaw, S., Gardner, F., Lawrence Aber, J. and Cluver, L. 2016. Predictors of mental health resilience in children who have been parentally bereaved by AIDS in urban South Africa. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 44(4), pp. 719-730. (10.1007/s10802-015-0068-x)
Riglin, L. et al. 2016. Higher cognitive ability buffers stress-related depressive symptoms in adolescent girls. Development and Psychopathology 28(1), pp. 97-109. (10.1017/S0954579415000310)
Sellers, R. et al. 2016. Examining whether offspring psychopathology influences illness course in mothers with recurrent depression using a high-risk longitudinal sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 125(2), pp. 256-266. (10.1037/abn0000080)
Collishaw, S. et al. 2016. Mental health resilience in the adolescent offspring of parents with depression: a prospective longitudinal study. Lancet Psychiatry 3(1), pp. 49-57. (10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00358-2)
Hammerton, G., Zammit, S., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2016. Explaining risk for suicidal ideation in adolescent offspring of mothers with depression. Psychological Medicine -London- 46(2), pp. 265-275. (10.1017/S0033291715001671)

2015

Hammerton, G., Zammit, S., Sellers, R., Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Mahedy, L. and Pearson, R. 2015. In Reply. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 54(10), pp. 868-869. (10.1016/j.jaac.2015.07.012)
Russell, G., Collishaw, S., Golding, J., Kelly, S. E. and Ford, T. 2015. Changes in diagnosis rates and behavioural traits of autism spectrum disorder over time. British Journal of Psychiatry Open 1(2), pp. 110-115. (10.1192/bjpo.bp.115.000976)
Mars, B. et al. 2015. Longitudinal symptom course in adults with recurrent depression: Impact on impairment and risk of psychopathology in offspring. Journal of Affective Disorders 182, pp. 32-38. (10.1016/j.jad.2015.04.018)
Hammerton, G., Mahedy, L., Mars, B., Harold, G. T., Thapar, A., Zammit, S. and Collishaw, S. 2015. Association between maternal depression symptoms across the first eleven years of their child's life and subsequent offspring suicidal ideation. Plos One 10(7), article number: e0131885. (10.1371/journal.pone.0131885)
Hammerton, G., Zammit, S., Mahedy, L., Pearson, R. M., Sellers, R., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2015. Pathways to suicide-related behavior in offspring of mothers with depression: the role of offspring psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 54(5), pp. 385-393. (10.1016/j.jaac.2015.02.006)
Kilford, E. J., Foulkes, L., Potter, R., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. and Rice, F. 2015. Affective bias and current, past and future adolescent depression: a familial high risk study. Journal of Affective Disorders 174, pp. 265-271. (10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.046)
Collishaw, S. 2015. Annual Research Review: Secular trends in child and adolescent mental health. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 56(3), pp. 370-393. (10.1111/jcpp.12372)
Sellers, R., Maughan, B., Pickles, A., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2015. Trends in parent- and teacher-rated emotional, conduct and ADHD problems and their impact in prepubertal children in Great Britain: 1999-2008. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 56(1), pp. 49-57. (10.1111/jcpp.12273)
Maughan, B. and Collishaw, S. 2015. Development and psychopathology: a life course perspective. In: Thapar, A. et al. eds. Rutter's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 1-14., (10.1002/9781118381953.ch1)

2014

Rawal, A., Riglin, L., Ng-Knight, T., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. and Rice, F. 2014. A longitudinal high-risk study of adolescent anxiety, depression and parent-severity on the developmental course of risk-adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55(11), pp. 1270-1278. (10.1111/jcpp.12279)
Schepman, K., Fombonne, E., Collishaw, S. and Taylor, E. 2014. Cognitive styles in depressed children with and without comorbid conduct disorder. Journal of Adolescence 37(5), pp. 622-631. (10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.04.004)
Eyre, O. et al. 2014. Reported child awareness of parental depression. Psychiatric Bulletin 38(3), pp. 122-127. (10.1192/pb.bp.113.044198)
Lewis, G., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. and Harold, G. T. 2014. Parent-child hostility and child and adolescent depression symptoms: the direction of effects, role of genetic factors and gender. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 23(5), pp. 317-327. (10.1007/s00787-013-0460-4)
Hammerton, G., Zammit, S., Potter, R., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2014. Validation of a composite of suicide items from the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) in offspring of recurrently depressed parents. Psychiatry Research 216(1), pp. 82-88. (10.1016/j.psychres.2014.01.040)
Thapar, A. K. et al. 2014. Detecting recurrent major depressive disorder within primary care rapidly and reliably using short questionnaire measures. British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) 64(618), pp. e31-7. (10.3399/bjgp14X676438)
Harold, G. T., Leve, L. D., Kim, H. K., Mahedy, L., Gaysina, D., Thapar, A. and Collishaw, S. 2014. Maternal caregiving and girls' depressive symptom and antisocial behavior trajectories: An examination among high-risk youth. Development and Psychopathology 26(4pt2), pp. 1461-1475. (10.1017/S095457941400114X)

2013

Lewis, K. J. et al. 2013. The Depression impairment scale for parents (DISP): A new scale for the measurement of impairment in depressed parents. Psychiatry Research 210(3), pp. 1184-1190. (10.1016/j.psychres.2013.08.001)
Rawal, A., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. and Rice, F. 2013. A direct method of assessing underlying cognitive risk for adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 41(8), pp. 1279-1288. (10.1007/s10802-013-9760-x)
Mars, B. et al. 2013. Specific parental depression symptoms as risk markers for new-onset depression in high-risk offspring. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 74(9), pp. 925-931. (10.4088/JCP.12m08152)
Sellers, R. et al. 2013. Maternal depression and co-occurring antisocial behaviour: testing maternal hostility and warmth as mediators of risk for offspring psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55(2), pp. 112-120. (10.1111/jcpp.12111)
Maughan, B., Collishaw, S. and Stringaris, A. 2013. Depression in childhood and adolescence. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 22(1), pp. 35-40.
Rawal, A., Collishaw, S., Thapar, A. and Rice, F. 2013. 'The risks of playing it safe': a prospective longitudinal study of response to reward in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Psychological Medicine 43(1), pp. 27-38. (10.1017/S0033291712001158)

2012

Lewis, K. J. et al. 2012. Do parents know best? Parent-reported vs. child-reported depression symptoms as predictors of future child mood disorder in a high-risk sample. Journal of Affective Disorders 141(2-3), pp. 233-236. (10.1016/j.jad.2012.03.008)
Sellers, R. et al. 2012. Risk of psychopathology in adolescent offspring of mothers with psychopathology and recurrent depression. British Journal of Psychiatry 202(2), pp. 108-114. (10.1192/bjp.bp.111.104984)
Potter, R. et al. 2012. Missed opportunities: mental disorder in children of parents with depression. British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) 62(600), pp. e487-e493. (10.3399/bjgp12X652355)
Schepman, K., Taylor, E., Collishaw, S. and Fombonne, E. 2012. Face emotion processing in depressed children and adolescents with and without comorbid conduct disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 40(4), pp. 583-593. (10.1007/s10802-011-9587-2)
Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D. S. and Thapar, A. K. 2012. Depression in adolescence. The Lancet 379(9820), pp. 1056-1067. (10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60871-4)
Lewis, G., Collishaw, S., Harold, G. T., Rice, F. and Thapar, A. 2012. Maternal depression and child and adolescent depression symptoms: an exploratory test for moderation by CRHR1, FKBP5 and NR3C1 gene variants. Behavior Genetics 42(1), pp. 121-132. (10.1007/s10519-011-9482-1)
Collishaw, S., Gardner, F., Maughan, B., Scott, J. and Pickles, A. 2012. Do historical changes in parent-child relationships explain increases in youth conduct problems?. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 40(1), pp. 119-132. (10.1007/s10802-011-9543-1)
Mars, B. et al. 2012. Offspring of parents with recurrent depression: which features of parent depression index risk for offspring psychopathology?. Journal of affective disorders 136(1-2), pp. 44-53. (10.1016/j.jad.2011.09.002)

2011

Shelton, K. H., Collishaw, S., Rice, F., Harold, G. T. and Thapar, A. 2011. Using a genetically informative design to examine the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood conduct problems. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 20(11-12), pp. 571-579. (10.1007/s00787-011-0224-y)
Langton, E. G., Collishaw, S., Goodman, R., Pickles, A. and Maughan, B. 2011. An emerging income differential for adolescent emotional problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 52(10), pp. 1081-1088. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02447.x)
Schepman, K., Collishaw, S., Gardner, F., Maughan, B., Scott, J. and Pickles, A. 2011. Do changes in parent mental health explain trends in youth emotional problems?. Social Science & Medicine 73(2), pp. 293-300. (10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.015)
Lewis, G., Rice, F., Harold, G. T., Collishaw, S. and Thapar, A. 2011. Investigating environmental links between parent depression and child depressive/anxiety symptoms using an assisted conception design. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 50(5), pp. 451-459. (10.1016/j.jaac.2011.01.015)

2010

Pickles, A., Aglan, A., Collishaw, S., Messer, J., Rutter, M. and Maughan, B. 2010. Predictors of suicidality across the life span: The Isle of Wight study. Psychological Medicine 40(9), pp. 1453-1466. (10.1017/S0033291709991905)
Collishaw, S., Maughan, B., Natarajan, L. and Pickles, A. 2010. Trends in adolescent emotional problems in England: a comparison of two national cohorts twenty years apart. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 51(8), pp. 885-894. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02252.x)
Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Potter, R. and Thapar, A. K. 2010. Managing and preventing depression in adolescents [Review]. British Medical Journal (BMJ) 340, pp. c209. (10.1136/bmj.c209)
Goodman, A., Heiervang, E., Collishaw, S. and Goodman, R. 2010. The 'DAWBA bands' as an ordered-categorical measure of child mental health: description and validation in British and Norwegian samples. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 46(6), pp. 521-532. (10.1007/s00127-010-0219-x)

2009

Collishaw, S., Goodman, R., Ford, T., Rabe-Hesketh, S. and Pickles, A. 2009. How far are associations between child, family and community factors and child psychopathology informant-specific and informant-general?. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 50(5), pp. 571-580. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02026.x)
Maughan, B., Messer, J., Collishaw, S., Pickles, A., Snowling, M., Yule, W. and Rutter, M. 2009. Persistence of literacy problems: spelling in adolescence and at mid-life. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 50(8), pp. 893-901. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02079.x)
Schwaninger, A., Lobmaier, J. S., Wallraven, C. and Collishaw, S. 2009. Two routes to face perception: evidence from psychophysics and computational modeling. Cognitive Science 33(8), pp. 1413-1440. (10.1111/j.1551-6709.2009.01059.x)

2008

Maughan, B., Collishaw, S., Meltzer, H. and Goodman, R. 2008. Recent trends in UK child and adolescent mental health. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology 43(4), pp. 305-310. (10.1007/s00127-008-0310-8)

2007

Ford, T., Collishaw, S., Meltzer, H. and Goodman, R. 2007. A prospective study of childhood psychopathology: independent predictors of change over three years. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 42(12), pp. 953-961. (10.1007/s00127-007-0272-2)
Collishaw, S., Goodman, R., Pickles, A. and Maughan, B. 2007. Modelling the contribution of changes in family life to time trends in adolescent conduct problems. Social Science & Medicine 65(12), pp. 2576-2587. (10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.06.010)
Goodman, R., Iervolino, A. C., Collishaw, S., Pickles, A. and Maughan, B. 2007. Seemingly minor changes to a questionnaire can make a big difference to mean scores: a cautionary tale. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 42(4), pp. 322-327. (10.1007/s00127-007-0169-0)
Collishaw, S., Pickles, A., Messer, J., Rutter, M., Shearer, C. and Maughan, B. 2007. Resilience to adult psychopathology following childhood maltreatment: Evidence from a community sample. Child Abuse & Neglect 31(3), pp. 211-229. (10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.02.004)
Collishaw, S., Dunn, J., O'Connor, T. G. and Golding, J. 2007. Maternal childhood abuse and offspring adjustment over time. Development and Psychopathology 19(2), pp. 367-387. (10.1017/S0954579407070186)

2005

Maughan, B., Iervolino, A. C. and Collishaw, S. 2005. Time trends in child and adolescent mental disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 18(4), pp. 381-385. (10.1097/01.yco.0000172055.25284.f2)
Collishaw, S., Hole, G. J. and Schwaninger, A. 2005. Configural processing and perceptions of head tilt. Perception 34(2), pp. 163-168. (10.1068/p5216)
Collishaw, S., Maughan, B. and Pickles, A. 2005. Confounding factors for depression in adults with mild learning disability - Authors' reply. The British Journal of Psychiatry 187(1), pp. 89. (10.1192/bjp.187.1.89-b)

2004

Collishaw, S., Maughan, B., Goodman, R. and Pickles, A. 2004. Time trends in adolescent mental health. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45(8), pp. 1350-1362. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00335.x)
Collishaw, S., Maughan, B. and Pickles, A. 2004. Affective problems in adults with mild learning disability: the roles of social disadvantage and ill health. The British Journal of Psychiatry 185(4), pp. 350-351. (10.1192/bjp.185.4.350)

2002

Collishaw, S. M. and Hole, G. J. 2002. Is there a linear or a nonlinear relationship between rotation and configural processing of faces?. Perception 31(3), pp. 287-296. (10.1068/p3195)

2000

Collishaw, S. and Hole, G. J. 2000. Featural and configurational processes in the recognition of faces of different familiarity. Perception 29(8), pp. 893-909. (10.1068/p2949)

1999

Rodgers, B., Pickles, A., Power, C., Collishaw, S. and Maughan, B. 1999. Validity of the Malaise Inventory in general population samples. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 34(6), pp. 333-341. (10.1007/s001270050153)
Maughan, B., Collishaw, S. and Pickles, A. 1999. Mild mental retardation: psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Psychological Medicine 29(2), pp. 351-366. (10.1017/S0033291798008058)

1998

Maughan, B., Collishaw, S. and Pickles, A. 1998. School achievement and adult qualifications among adoptees: a longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 39(5), pp. 669-685. (10.1111/1469-7610.00367)
Collishaw, S., Maughan, B. and Pickles, A. 1998. Infant adoption: psychosocial outcomes in adulthood. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 33(2), pp. 57-65. (10.1007/s001270050023)

A variety of high-impact research focuses on historical trends in adolescent mental health, and I have recently undertaken the first purposive study of causes of mental health trends – a dedicated replication allowing comparisons of two large nationally representative samples of youth with identical measures of mental health and relevant explanatory factors.

Other research examines mental health resilience in children who have experienced adversity, including maltreatment, orphanhood, or parent mental illness. A current grant in collaboration with colleagues at Oxford University is investigating mental health resilience in a large longitudinal study of South African children orphaned by AIDS or by other causes.

Several projects focus on adolescent depression. These include the Predicting and Preventing Depression Study – a Cardiff-based longitudinal study of offspring of depressed parents funded by the Jules Thorn Medical Trust.

I teach and mentor undergraduate medical students, offer a number of medical Student Selected Component projects focused on child and adolescent mental health and supervise research projects for the intercalated Psychology and Medicine degree.

Education and qualifications

2003: D.Phil. Psychology. University of Sussex
1994: M.A. Psychology. University of Sussex
1993: B.A. Psychology. University of Sussex

Career overview

2018-present: Cardiff University, School of Medicine, Professor
2009-2018: Cardiff University, School of Medicine, Senior Lecturer
2006-2009: Institute of Pscyhiatry, King's College London, Research Fellow
2007-2008: University of Oxford, Senior Research Officer
1998-2006: Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Research Associate

Elected fellowships

Academy of Social Sciences, elected 2020

Areas of supervision: Child and adolescent mental health (risk and resilience, epidemiology, long-term outcomes)

Current students

Thomas Broughton (second year), topic: relative age in school year and mental health

Lorna Ushaw (second year), topic: optimizing mental health outcomes for children with ADHD

Egle Padaigate (first year), topic: mental health resilience in offspring of parents with recurrent depression

Previous PhD Students and destinations

Olga Eyre. Awarded 2019. Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship - Chronic Irritability in ADHD: Examining the clinical and genetic links with depression. Destination: Welsh Clinical Academic Trainee, Cardiff University

Gemma Hammerton. Awarded 2016. Explaining risk for suicidal ideation in adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Destination: Senior Research Associate. Awarded Sir Henry Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship. Bristol University.

Ruth Sellers. Awarded 2013. Antisocial behaviour in the offspring of depressed parents. Destination: ESRC Young Leaders Post Doctoral Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer. University of Sussex

Becky Mars. Awarded 2013. A longitudinal family study of depression. Destination: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Post Doctoral Fellowship. University of Bristol

Gemma Lewis. Awarded 2012. Gene-environment interplay in depression. Destination: Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, UCL.

Goruchwyliaeth gyfredol

Tom Broughton

Myfyriwr ymchwil

EglĖ PadaigaitĖ

Myfyriwr ymchwil

Contact Details

CollishawS@caerdydd.ac.uk
+44 29206 88436
Adeilad Hadyn Ellis, Ystafell 2.20, Heol Maendy, Caerdydd, CF24 4HQ

Cyd-gyfarwyddwr Canolfan Wolfson wedi'i hethol yn gymrawd Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru

External profiles

Google Scholar

Yr Athro Stephan Collishaw

2024

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2020

2019

2018