Mark E Boyes
Biographic Data
| ID | 2640199 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mark E Boyes |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mark E |
| FAMILY NAME | Boyes |
| SIGNATURE | BOYES M E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Curtin University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5420-8606 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 47 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 44 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 47 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Development and validation of the preparedness to disclose non-suicidal self-injury scale
The disclosure of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) can be a critical step in recovery by enabling access to social support, clinical intervention, and emotional validation. However, little is known about the psychological and contextual factors that shape individuals’ decisions to disclose NSSI. The present study developed and provided initial validation for the Preparedness to Disclose Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Scale (PDNS), a novel measure designed…
Clarifying the importance and moderating roles of temporal self-regulation theory across behaviour types
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the utility of temporal self-regulation theory across four behaviours differing in complexity and approach or avoidance nature. Specifically, we explored if intention, habit, cues, self-regulation (disorganisation, coping planning, task switching, present orientation, sensation seeking, automaticity, planning and distractibility) and interactions between constructs could account for variance in fru…
Exploring Voluntary Disclosure of Non‐Suicidal Self‐Injury
Voluntary disclosure of Non‐Suicidal Self‐Injury (NSSI) refers to instances when an individual chooses to share with another person that they have self‐injured. To date, the processes involved in deciding to disclose NSSI are not well understood from a lived experience perspective. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore lived experience perspectives of the decision to voluntarily disclose NSSI. Fifteen semi‐structured interviews were co…
Measuring Violence Against Children
Valid, meaningful, and reliable adult retrospective measures of violence against children (VAC) are essential for establishing the prevalence, risk factors, and long-term effects of VAC. We aim to summarize the available evidence on the psychometric properties of adult retrospective VAC measures and to provide evidence-based recommendations for appropriate measure selection. We searched six electronic databases and gray literature for studies tha…
Trans young people’s experiences of nonsuicidal self-injury
Self-Injury in the News
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has garnered increasing academic and media attention in society. While more awareness of NSSI is welcomed, inappropriate reporting of NSSI in media could heighten the potential for stigmatization and misunderstanding of NSSI and people who engage in it. Further, certain kinds of content (e.g., graphic imagery) may be harmful to people who self-injure (e.g., provoking urges to self-injure). These concerns notwithsta…
Measuring Violence Against Children
Research on violence against children (VAC) requires meaningful, valid, and reliable self-report by children. Many instruments have been used globally and decisions to select suitable measures are complex. This review identifies child and adolescent self-report measures that are most likely to yield valid, reliable, and comparable data in this field. A systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD4201706) was conducted using the 2018 Consensus-based Standards…
Sleep as a mediator of the relationship between social class and health in higher education students
A substantial body of research indicates that higher education students from lower social class backgrounds tend to have poorer health than those from higher social class backgrounds. To investigate sleep as a potential mediator of this relationship, online survey responses of students from five large Australian universities, one Irish university and one large Australian technical college were analysed in three studies (Study 1 N = 628; Study 2 N…
Why Am I Doing This? Ambivalence in the Context of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Regarding non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is well reported, yet the experience of ambivalence in the context of self-injury remains understudied. Understanding nuances behind the experiences of ambivalence may allow identification of treatment targets, and promote compassion for individuals experiencing confusing competing thoughts, feelings, and desires. We aimed to explore individuals' personal experiences of ambivalence toward NSSI. In doing s…
Crazy, Weak, and Incompetent
Despite significant impacts to mental health and support-seeking, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) stigma remains under-studied and poorly understood. Recently, the NSSI Stigma Framework was proposed, conceptualizing NSSI stigma as comprising six constructs (origin, concealability, course, peril, aesthetics, disruptiveness) that manifest across four perspectives (public, self, anticipated, enacted). The present study investigated the extent to whi…
Understanding the predictors of medication adherence
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the applicability of temporal self-regulation theory (TST) in adherence to medication, using two self-report measures of behaviour. DESIGN: Recruited through TurkPrime, 191 US adults completed a two-part study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: TST constructs of intention, behavioural prepotency (past behaviour, habit, cues), self-regulation (self-control, planning) with regimen complexity, and side effects were measur…
Power to participants
Whilst the HIV response has made significant progress in increasing representation of adults affected by HIV, the meaningful inclusion of children and adolescents has lagged. But this may be a pivotal moment of change. We report on a decade of conducting adolescent advisory groups in South Africa, to reflect on youth advisory processes. Data was collected from 2008 to 2018 from adolescent advisors (n = 60) and researchers (n = 25), and included f…
News media framing of self-harm in Australia
As a conduit of knowledge for the general public, news media inform the development and maintenance of attitudes and beliefs about a range of topics, including mental health and related behaviors. News media portrayals of such topics can, therefore, contribute to stigma—the culmination of harmful stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. A topic of increasing media and research interest is self-harm, a behavior that is still poorly understood a…
Measurement Invariance of Perfectionism Measures in Students with and without a History of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process which may be implicated in the onset and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury. No study has evaluated whether reported differences in perfectionism between individuals with and without a history of self-injury represent genuine group differences or measurement artefacts. The present study reports an investigation of the measurement invariance of two common scales of perfectionism, the Frost Multidimen…
Relationships with caregivers and mental health outcomes among adolescents living with HIV
Findings highlight open and supportive adolescent-caregiver communication and good caregiver supervision as potential factors for guarding against mental health problems among adolescents living with HIV in South Africa. Several evidence-informed parenting programmes aim to improve adolescent-caregiver communication and caregiver supervision, and their effect on depression and anxiety among adolescents living with HIV should be rigorously tested …
Adolescent Motherhood and HIV in South Africa
The mental health of adolescents (10-19 years) remains an overlooked global health issue, particularly within the context of syndemic conditions such as HIV and pregnancy. Rates of pregnancy and HIV among adolescents within South Africa are some of the highest in the world. Experiencing pregnancy and living with HIV during adolescence have both been found to be associated with poor mental health within separate explorations. Yet, examinations of …
Piloting 'Clever Kids
Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) problems. Clever Kids is a nine-week socioemotional well-being programme developed specifically for upper primary school children with dyslexia. In a small randomized-controlled trial, we tested the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Clever Kids programme.'Forty children (Mage = 10.45 years, 65% male) with clinically diagnosed dys…
The effect of psychological distress on self-care intention and behaviour in young adults with type 1 diabetes
An extended theory of planned behaviour including psychological distress was used to predict blood glucose monitoring in young adults with type 1 diabetes. Participants completed two surveys, a week apart ( n = 167). Attitudes and perceived behavioural control were significantly associated with intention but subjective norm was not. Intention predicted blood glucose monitoring at T2. Higher scores in psychological distress significantly predicted…
What is alexithymia? Using factor analysis to establish its latent structure and relationship with fantasizing and emotional reactivity
OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing uncertainty about the structure and definition of alexithymia. Conceptually, alexithymia has traditionally been defined as a multidimensional trait with four components: difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally orientated thinking, and difficulty fantasizing. However, some authors suggest that difficulty fantasizing might not be a component, and others suggest low emotional reactivity…
Stigma and nonsuicidal self-injury
Fluctuations in Affective States and Self-Efficacy to Resist Non-Suicidal Self-Injury as Real-Time Predictors of Non-Suicidal Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors
This study provides preliminary evidence that affective fluctuations may uniquely predict NSSI thoughts but not NSSI behaviors, and point to the role of personal belief in the ability to resist NSSI in preventing NSSI behavior. These findings illustrate the need to differentiate between the development of NSSI thoughts and the progression from NSSI thoughts to behavior, as these are likely distinct processes, with different predictors
Online self-compassion training to improve the wellbeing of youth with chronic medical conditions
The trial was registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry on the 11th April 2019, ACTRN12619000572167. Protocol version: Version 2, 21 December 2019
Implicit Assessment of Self-Injury Related Outcome Expectancies
According to Social Cognitive Theory, the anticipated consequences of a behaviour (outcome expectancies), influence the likelihood of engaging in a behaviour. Results from self-report studies suggest that people who have self-injured expect self-injury will regulate emotions while people who have never self-injured expect self-injury to result in pain. In this study we trialled three experimental tasks measuring implicit self-injury related outco…
Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV
Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and ex…
Knowledge of parental nonsuicidal self-injury in young people who self-injure
Many dysregulated behaviours, used to cope with intense or unwanted emotion, can be learned in an interpersonal context. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is potentially one such behaviour. In this study we explored whether knowing a parent self-injured was related to NSSI among young adults, and whether such an association was associated with thoughts and beliefs about NSSI. Specifically we tested the roles of anticipated outcomes of NSSI, and beli…
Pathways from parental Aids to child psychological, educational and sexual risk
Increasing evidence demonstrates negative psychological, health, and developmental outcomes for children associated with parental HIV/AIDS illness and death. However, little is known about how parental AIDS leads to negative child outcomes. This study used a structural equation modelling approach to develop an empirically-based theoretical model of interactive relationships between parental or primary caregiver AIDS-illness, AIDS-orphanhood and p…
Development of a Parenting Support Program to Prevent Abuse of Adolescents in South Africa
Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported principles. Method: This study used a pre-post design to test initial effects of a 10-session parent…
Correlates of externalising and internalising problems in children with dyslexia
ObjectiveAdopting a socio‐ecological perspective, we used data extracted from clinical casefiles to investigate factors associated with externalising and internalising problems in a large, representative sample of children with a diagnosis of dyslexia.MethodThis study is a secondary analysis of data collected by the Dyslexia‐SPELD Foundation in Western Australia. Casefiles for school‐aged children who had received a dyslexia diagnosis in 2014 and…
Relationships between Reading Ability and Child Mental Health
ObjectiveChildren with reading difficulties are at elevated risk for externalising (e.g., conduct disorder) and internalising (e.g., anxiety and depression) mental health problems. Reading ability is also negatively associated with self‐esteem, a consistent predictor of child and adolescent mental health more broadly. This study examined whether self‐esteem moderated and/or mediated relationships between reading ability and mental health.MethodOn…
Physical, emotional and sexual adolescent abuse victimisation in South Africa
BACKGROUND: Physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children is a major problem in South Africa, with severe negative outcomes for survivors. To date, no known studies have used data directly obtained from community-based samples of children to investigate prevalence, incidence, locations and perpetrators of child abuse victimisation. This study aims to investigate prevalence and incidence, perpetrators, and locations of child abuse victimisation…
Crazy, Weak, and Incompetent
Despite significant impacts to mental health and support-seeking, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) stigma remains under-studied and poorly understood. Recently, the NSSI Stigma Framework was proposed, conceptualizing NSSI stigma as comprising six constructs (origin, concealability, course, peril, aesthetics, disruptiveness) that manifest across four perspectives (public, self, anticipated, enacted). The present study investigated the extent to whi…
They Say HIV is a Punishment from God or from Ancestors’
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 90 % of the world's adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). HIV-stigma and the resultant fear of being identified as HIV-positive can compromise the survival of these youth by undermining anti-retroviral treatment initiation and adherence. To date, no HIV-stigma measures have been validated for use with ALHIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reports on a two-stage study in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Firstly, we co…
What are the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Among Low‐income Youth in C ape T own
Research in high‐income countries has identified an array of risk factors for youth antisocial behavior. However, in low‐ and middle‐income countries, despite higher prevalence of offending and antisocial behavior, there is a paucity of prospective, longitudinal evidence examining predictors. South Africa is a middle‐income country with high rates of violence and crime, and a unique social context, characterized by striking income and gender ineq…
Why Am I Doing This? Ambivalence in the Context of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Regarding non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is well reported, yet the experience of ambivalence in the context of self-injury remains understudied. Understanding nuances behind the experiences of ambivalence may allow identification of treatment targets, and promote compassion for individuals experiencing confusing competing thoughts, feelings, and desires. We aimed to explore individuals' personal experiences of ambivalence toward NSSI. In doing s…
Piloting 'Clever Kids
Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) problems. Clever Kids is a nine-week socioemotional well-being programme developed specifically for upper primary school children with dyslexia. In a small randomized-controlled trial, we tested the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Clever Kids programme.'Forty children (Mage = 10.45 years, 65% male) with clinically diagnosed dys…
The effect of psychological distress on self-care intention and behaviour in young adults with type 1 diabetes
An extended theory of planned behaviour including psychological distress was used to predict blood glucose monitoring in young adults with type 1 diabetes. Participants completed two surveys, a week apart ( n = 167). Attitudes and perceived behavioural control were significantly associated with intention but subjective norm was not. Intention predicted blood glucose monitoring at T2. Higher scores in psychological distress significantly predicted…
Transactional Sex Amongst Aids-Orphaned and Aids-Affected Adolescents Predicted by Abuse and Extreme Poverty
OBJECTIVES: Little is known about impacts of familial AIDS on abuse and sexual health outcomes amongst adolescents. Objectives were to determine whether familial AIDS is: (1) associated with severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; (2) associated with transactional sexual exploitation; and (3) explore whether relationships between familial AIDS and transactional sex are mediated by extreme poverty and abuse. DESIGN: Adolescent self-report st…
Persisting mental health problems among Aids‐orphaned children in South Africa
Background: By 2008, 12 million children in sub‐Saharan Africa were orphaned by AIDS. Cross‐sectional studies show psychological problems for AIDS‐orphaned children, but until now no longitudinal study has explored enduring psychological effects of AIDS‐orphanhood in the developing world. Methods: A 4‐year longitudinal follow‐up of AIDS‐orphaned children with control groups of other‐orphans and non‐orphans. 1021 children ( M = 13.4 years, 50% fem…
Child-focused state cash transfers and adolescent risk of HIV infection in South Africa
BACKGROUND: Effective and scalable HIV prevention for adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is needed. Cash transfers can reduce HIV incidence through reducing risk behaviours. However, questions remain about their effectiveness within national poverty-alleviation programmes, and their effects on different behaviours in boys and girls. METHODS: In this case-control study, we interviewed South African adolescents (aged 10-18 years) between 2009 and 20…
The hidden harm of home-based care
Millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa undertake personal and medical care for family members who are unwell with AIDS. To date, no research has investigated whether such care provision places children at heightened risk for pulmonary tuberculosis. This study aimed to address this gap by identifying risk factors for paediatric pulmonary tuberculosis symptomatology. In 2009-2011, 6002 children aged 10-17 years were surveyed using door-to-door …
Validation of a brief stigma-by-association scale for use with HIV/Aids-affected youth in South Africa
This study validated a brief stigma-by-association scale for use with South African youth (adapted from the HIV Stigma-by-Association Scale for Adolescents). Participants were 723 youth (364 male, 359 female) from poor urban communities around Cape Town. Youths completed the brief stigma-by-association scale and measures of bullying victimisation and peer-problems, as well as inventories measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety. Exploratory a…
Pathways from parental Aids to child psychological, educational and sexual risk
Increasing evidence demonstrates negative psychological, health, and developmental outcomes for children associated with parental HIV/AIDS illness and death. However, little is known about how parental AIDS leads to negative child outcomes. This study used a structural equation modelling approach to develop an empirically-based theoretical model of interactive relationships between parental or primary caregiver AIDS-illness, AIDS-orphanhood and p…
Pathways to poor educational outcomes for HIV/Aids-affected youth in South Africa
A recent systematic review of studies in the developing world has critically examined linkages from familial HIV/AIDS and associated factors such as poverty and child mental health to negative child educational outcomes. In line with several recommendations in the review, the current study modelled relationships between familial HIV/AIDS, poverty, child internalising problems, gender and four educational outcomes: non-enrolment at school, non-att…
Positive parenting for positive parents
Families affected by HIV/AIDS in the developing world experience higher risks of psychosocial problems than nonaffected families. Positive parenting behavior may buffer against the negative impact of child AIDS-orphanhood and caregiver AIDS-sickness on child well-being. Although there is substantial literature regarding the predictors of parenting behavior in Western populations, there is insufficient evidence on HIV/AIDS as a risk factor for poo…
Medical Pluralism Predicts Non-ART Use among Parents in Need of ART
Risk and Protective Factors for Physical and Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents in Africa
There is now conclusive evidence of the major and long-lasting negative effects of physical and sexual abuse on children. Within Africa, studies consistently report high rates of child abuse, with prevalence as high as 64%. However, to date, there has been no review of factors associated with physical and sexual child abuse and polyvictimization in Africa. This review identified 23 quantitative studies, all of which showed high levels of child ab…
Household illness, poverty and physical and emotional child abuse victimisation
These results indicate that children in families affected by AIDS-illness are at higher risk of child abuse victimisation, and this risk is mediated by higher levels of poverty and disability. Children affected by other chronic illness are at lower risk for abuse victimisation unless they are subject to higher levels of household disability. Interventions aiming to reduce poverty and increase family support may help prevent child abuse in familie…
What are the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Among Low‐income Youth in C ape T own
Research in high‐income countries has identified an array of risk factors for youth antisocial behavior. However, in low‐ and middle‐income countries, despite higher prevalence of offending and antisocial behavior, there is a paucity of prospective, longitudinal evidence examining predictors. South Africa is a middle‐income country with high rates of violence and crime, and a unique social context, characterized by striking income and gender ineq…
Relationships Between Familial HIV/Aids and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
School, Supervision and Adolescent-Sensitive Clinic Care
Social protection can reduce HIV-risk behavior in general adolescent populations, but evidence among HIV-positive adolescents is limited. This study quantitatively tests whether social protection is associated with reduced unprotected sex among 1060 ART-eligible adolescents from 53 government facilities in South Africa. Potential social protection included nine 'cash/cash-in-kind' and 'care' provisions. Analyses tested interactive/additive effect…
They Say HIV is a Punishment from God or from Ancestors’
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 90 % of the world's adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). HIV-stigma and the resultant fear of being identified as HIV-positive can compromise the survival of these youth by undermining anti-retroviral treatment initiation and adherence. To date, no HIV-stigma measures have been validated for use with ALHIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reports on a two-stage study in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Firstly, we co…
Development of a Parenting Support Program to Prevent Abuse of Adolescents in South Africa
Purpose: Violence against children increases in adolescence, but there is a research and practice gap in research-supported child abuse prevention for the adolescent years. A pilot program for low-resource settings was developed in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, government, and academics in South Africa, using research-supported principles. Method: This study used a pre-post design to test initial effects of a 10-session parent…
Physical, emotional and sexual adolescent abuse victimisation in South Africa
BACKGROUND: Physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children is a major problem in South Africa, with severe negative outcomes for survivors. To date, no known studies have used data directly obtained from community-based samples of children to investigate prevalence, incidence, locations and perpetrators of child abuse victimisation. This study aims to investigate prevalence and incidence, perpetrators, and locations of child abuse victimisation…
Poverty moderates the association between gender and school dropout in South African adolescents
This study examined prospective associations between poverty, gender, and school dropout in a large community sample of South African adolescents (baseline: n = 3515, follow-up: n = 3401, 57% female, age range at baseline: 10–17 years, mean age at baseline = 13.45). School dropout was defined as being enrolled in school at baseline assessment but no longer enrolled in school at follow-up assessment. Poverty was measured at baseline assessment usi…
Relationships between Reading Ability and Child Mental Health
ObjectiveChildren with reading difficulties are at elevated risk for externalising (e.g., conduct disorder) and internalising (e.g., anxiety and depression) mental health problems. Reading ability is also negatively associated with self‐esteem, a consistent predictor of child and adolescent mental health more broadly. This study examined whether self‐esteem moderated and/or mediated relationships between reading ability and mental health.MethodOn…
The associations between non-suicidal self-injury and first onset suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Parenting for Lifelong Health
OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of 'Parenting for Lifelong Health: Sinovuyo Teen', a parenting programme for adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries, on abuse and parenting practices. DESIGN: Pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING: 40 villages/urban sites (clusters) in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: 552 families reporting conflict with their adolescents (aged 10-18). INTERVENTION: Intervention…
Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV
Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and ex…
Knowledge of parental nonsuicidal self-injury in young people who self-injure
Many dysregulated behaviours, used to cope with intense or unwanted emotion, can be learned in an interpersonal context. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is potentially one such behaviour. In this study we explored whether knowing a parent self-injured was related to NSSI among young adults, and whether such an association was associated with thoughts and beliefs about NSSI. Specifically we tested the roles of anticipated outcomes of NSSI, and beli…
Correlates of externalising and internalising problems in children with dyslexia
ObjectiveAdopting a socio‐ecological perspective, we used data extracted from clinical casefiles to investigate factors associated with externalising and internalising problems in a large, representative sample of children with a diagnosis of dyslexia.MethodThis study is a secondary analysis of data collected by the Dyslexia‐SPELD Foundation in Western Australia. Casefiles for school‐aged children who had received a dyslexia diagnosis in 2014 and…
What is alexithymia? Using factor analysis to establish its latent structure and relationship with fantasizing and emotional reactivity
OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing uncertainty about the structure and definition of alexithymia. Conceptually, alexithymia has traditionally been defined as a multidimensional trait with four components: difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally orientated thinking, and difficulty fantasizing. However, some authors suggest that difficulty fantasizing might not be a component, and others suggest low emotional reactivity…
Medicine (36 works) · Psychology (36 works) · Clinical Psychology (25 works) · Psychiatry (25 works) · Poison control (18 works) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (16 works) · Developmental psychology (16 works) · Environmental health (15 works) · Clinical Psychology (14 works) · Injury prevention (12 works)