Staff profile

Professor Susan J Paxton

Professor

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Psychological Science
Department of Psychology

George Singer Building, Room 460, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BA Hons, MPsych, PhD

Membership of professional associations

Registered Psychologist Australia, Academy for Eating Disorders, Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, Australian Psychological Society, College of Clinical & Health Psychologists

Area of study

Psychology

Brief profile

Professor Paxton’s research has concentrated on understanding risk factors for the development of body image and eating disorders, and the evaluation of prevention and treatment interventions for these problems. Her major current projects explore the early development of body image and eating behaviours, body image and disordered eating at critical developmental phases, evaluation of school-based prevention interventions and stigma associated with eating disorders. 

Professor Paxton has been a member of the National Ministerial Body Image Advisory Group, a member of the Victorian State Ministerial Advisory Committee on Body Image and Ministerial Advisory Committee for Eating Disorders. She is past President of the Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, and past President of the Academy of Eating Disorders.  She is also a Director of the Butterfly Foundation and co-chair of the  Prevention and Early Intervention Steering Committee of the National Eating Disorders Collaboration.

Research interests

Clinical and health psychology

- Early development of body image and eating behaviours

- Prevention and early intervention for body image and eating problems

- Reducing stigma associated with eating disorders

Teaching units

PSY3PIN Psychological Interventions

PSY5CCP Health Psychology

PSY2ACH Abnormal, Clinical and Health Psychology

PSY5PAD Adult Psychopathology - Eating Disorders

Recent publications

Paxton, S.J. (in press). Public policy approaches to prevention of body image problems. In T. F. Cash (Ed). Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance. Oxford, UK: Elsevier/Academic Press.

Wertheim, E.H. & Paxton, S.J. (in press). Body image development – adolescents. Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance, Ch. 29. Oxford, UK: Elsevier.

Paxton, S.J. (in press). Public health interventions for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders: Learning from Victoria. In McVey, G., Levine M., Piran, N., and Ferguson, B. (Eds.). The Prevention of Eating-Related Disorders: Linking Collaborative Research, Advocacy and Policy Change. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press. 

Fedyszyn, I. E., Harris, M.G., Robinson, J., Edwards, J., & Paxton, S.J. (in press). Characteristics of suicide attempts in young people undergoing treatment for first-episode psychosis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

Brown, A.P., Lubman, D.I. & Paxton, S.J. (in press). Psychosocial risk factors for inconsistent condom use in young people with first episode psychosis. Community Mental Health Journal.

McLean, S.A., Paxton, S.J., & Wertheim, E.H. (2011, Oct 17). A body image and disordered eating intervention for midlife women: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0026094

Rodgers, R., Chabrol, H., & Paxton, S.J.  (2011). An exploration of the Tripartite Influence model of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among Australian and French college women.  Body Image, 8 (3), 208-215.

Hart, L. M., Granillo, M.T., Jorm, A.F. & Paxton, S.J. (2011). Treatment seeking in eating disorders: A systematic review of the proportion of community cases seeking treatment for an eating disorder.  Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 727-735.

Gregory, J.E., Paxton, S.J., & Brozovic, A.M. (2011). Maternal feeding practices predict fruit and vegetable consumption in young children: Results of a 12-month longitudinal study. Appetite, 57, 167-172.

Brown, A.P., Lubman, D.I. & Paxton, S.J. (2011). Reducing sexually-transmitted infection risk in young people with first-episode psychosis.  International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 20, 12-20.

Evans, E.J., Hay, P.J, Mond, J., Paxton, S.J. Quirk, F., Rodgers, B., Jhajj, Marta, A.J., & Sawoniewska, A. (2011). Barriers to help-seeking in young women with eating disorders: A qualitative exploration in a longitudinal community survey.  Eating Disorders, 19, 270-285.

Paxton, S.J. (2011). Modifiable risk factors that can be translated into prevention or resilience. J. Alexander & J. Treasure (Eds). A Collaborative Approach to Eating Disorders. London: Psychology Press/Routledge. Ch 5, pp. 62-71.

Paxton, S.J. (2011).  Public policy and prevention. In T. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds). Body image: A handbook of science, practice and prevention, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press, Ch.52, pp.460-468.

Wertheim, E.H. & Paxton, S.J. (2011). Body image in adolescent girls. In T. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds). Body Image: A handbook of science, practice and prevention, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press, Ch. 9, pp.76-84

Paxton, S.J. & Franko, D.L. (2010). Body image and eating disorders. In Cucciare, M.A. & K.R. Weingardt (Eds). Using technology to support evidence-based behavioural health practices: A clinician’s guide. New York: Routledge. Ch.8, pp. 151-168.

Kamysheva, E., Skouteris, H., Wertheim, E.H., Paxton, S.J., Milgrom, J. (2010). A prospective investigation of the relationships among sleep quality, physical symptoms, and depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 123, 317-320.

Gregory, J.E., Paxton, S.J., & Brozovic, A.M. (2010). Maternal feeding practices, child eating behaviour and body mass index in preschool-aged children: A prospective analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7, 55.

Rodgers, R.F., Paxton, S.J., & Chabrol, H. (2010). Depression as a moderator of sociocultural influences on eating disorder symptoms in adolescent females and males.  Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39 (4), 293-402.

Brown, A.P., Lubman, D.I. & Paxton, S.J. (2010). Sexual risk behaviour in young people with first episode psychosis.  Early Intervention Psychiatry, 4(3), 234-42.

Gregory, J.E., Paxton, S.J., & Brozovic, A.M. (2010). Pressure to eat and restriction are associated with child eating behaviours and maternal concern about child weight, but not child body mass index in 2- to 4-year-old children.  Appetite, 54, 550-556.

McLean, S.A., Paxton, S.J., & Wertheim, E.H. (2010). Factors associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in women in midlife.  International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(6), 527-536.

Courtney, J., Francis, A., & Paxton, S.J. (2010). Caring for carers: Fatigue, sleep and mental health in Australian paramedic shiftworkers. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Organisational Psychology, 3, 32-43.

Hay, P., Buttner, P., Mond, J., Paxton, S., Rodgers, B., Quirk, F. & Darby, A. (2010). Quality of life, course and predictors of outcomes in community women with EDNOS and common eating disorders. European Eating Disorder Review, online

Mond, J.M., Hay, P.J., Paxton, S.J., Rodgers, B., Darby, A., Nillson, J.,  Quirk, F., & Owen, C. (2010). Eating disorders “Mental Health Literacy” in low risk, high risk and symptomatic women:  Implications for health promotion programs.  Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 18, 267-285.

Richardson, S.M., & Paxton, S.J. (2010). An evaluation of a body image intervention based on risk factors for body dissatisfaction: A controlled study with adolescent girls.  International Journal of Eating Disorders. 43(2), 112-122.

Fedyszyn, I.E., Robinson, J., Matyas, T., Harris, M.G., Paxton, S.J. (2010). Temporal pattern of suicide risk in young individuals with early psychosis. Psychiatry Research, 175, 98-103.

Paxton, S.J. & McLean, S. (2009). Body image treatment.  In C. Grilo & J. Mitchell (Eds). The treatment of eating disorders.  New York: The Guilford Press, Ch 28, pp. 471-486.

Paxton, S.J. & Hay, P.H. (Eds).  (2009) Interventions for body image and eating disorders: Evidence and practice. Sydney: IP Communications.

Mond, J.M., Hay, P.J., Rodgers, B., Darby, A., Quirk, F., Buttner, P., Paxton, S.J., Owen, C. (2009).  When do women with eating disorders receive treatment for an eating problem?  Findings from a prospective, community-based study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(5), 835-844.

Moss, K., Skouteris, H., Wertheim, E.H., Paxton, S.J., Milgrom, J. (2009). Depressive and anxiety symptoms through late pregnancy and the first year post birth: An examination of prospective relationships. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 12, 345-349.

Hart, L.M., Jorm, A.F, Paxton, S.J., Kelly, C.M., & Kitchener, B.A. (2009). First aid for eating disorders: Development of mental health first aid guidelines using the Delphi consensus method. Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 17, 357-384.

Rodgers, R.F., Paxton, S.J., & Chabrol, H. (2009). Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: A sociocultural model. Body Image, 6, 171-177.

Richardson, S.M., Paxton, S.J. & Thomson, J.S. (2009). Is BodyThink an efficacious body image and self-esteem program? A controlled evaluation with adolescents.  Body Image. 6, 75-82.

Knauss, C., Paxton, S.J., & Alsaker, F.D. (2009).  Validation of the German version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-G). Body Image: An International Journal of Research, 6, 13-20.

Research projects

Currently Funded Projects

“The development of body image attitudes in three, four and five year old girls and boys: a prospective study of psychosocial predictor variables” Australian Research Council (2011-13), Susan Paxton & Eleanor Wertheim ($258,373)

“Prevention across the spectrum: can we simultaneously reduce the risk of eating disorders and obesity” Butterfly Research Institute Grant (2011-12), Simon Wilksch, Tracey Wade, Susan Paxton, Bryn Austin & Sue Byrne ($200,000)

“Paving the way for effective public health interventions for bulimic disorders: Understanding stigma and mental health literacy”. Australian Research Council (2010-12), Susan Paxton, Jonathon Mond, Phillipa Hay, Bryan Rodgers, ($214,000)

“Body image, eating disorders and depressive symptom outcomes following a school-based body image prevention intervention: A one year follow-up study”.  Beyondblue Grant (2010-2012), Susan Paxton & Eleanor Wertheim ($200,000)

Additional Research Projects

“Influences on the development of eating behaviours in young children: Prospective research”.

“Development and evaluation of peer-based approaches to prevention of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating”.

“Identification of effective public policy approaches to prevention of body image and eating disorders”.

“Understanding body image and disordered eating in midlife women”.