Academy Fellow

Professor Houghton’s research has focused on child and adolescent developmental psychopathology, and the underlying mechanisms that adversely impact children and adolescents, especially those with heightened vulnerability to adverse educational and mental health outcomes and loneliness. His ARC funded work has advanced theory and practice and positively impacted the lives of young people and their families. The recent longitudinal research he and colleagues conducted examining the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic school lockdowns on trajectories of mental health and loneliness among Australian adolescents with-or-without neurodevelopmental disorders is one of the few true multi wave studies that covered the period prior to and during the pandemic and following the reopening of schools. This research provided empirical evidence of the differential impact of school closures according to neurodevelopmental status.

A unique feature of Professor Houghton’s research has been the development and validation of new and innovative measures of loneliness, worry, and positive mental wellbeing that include young people’s voices, conceptualisations, and lived experiences. Failure to include young people diminishes the validity of measures and therefore the ability to gauge the effectiveness of the interventions in which they participate. This has led to a significant contribution in understanding the mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of adverse mental health and loneliness in young people, and especially in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Specific Learning Disorders, and Tourette’s syndrome. Professor Houghton’s recent research with his colleagues has resulted in the first measure of child and adolescent loneliness using multiple branching items that directly map on to the operational definition of loneliness.

Professor Houghton and colleagues have enhanced the translation of research into real world settings by co-designing innovative ways to engage children and adolescents in school and clinic-based programs. For example, Minds Online, a 10 episode 3-D animated serious game embeds a therapeutic approach that directly tackles the biased interpretive processes that give rise to negative thinking and mental health problems. Minds Online - The Connection, a five-episode serious game, also embeds a therapeutic approach that teaches young people to manage the emotionally distressing effects of loneliness.

Professor Houghton’s research is widely cited by academic researchers and clinicians and has been reported extensively in the print and electronic media. While invited presentations at international and national conferences ensure the dissemination of the research to a wide academic audience, Professor Houghton also gives freely of his knowledge to young people with neurodevelopmental conditions and their families. He frequently liaises with schools on behalf of families whose children are experiencing difficulties, is a board member to charitable organisations, and undertakes expert witness reports in his area of expertise.

Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Elected Member of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

Elected Member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.

University of Western Australia. Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Award for distinguished achievement in research, scholarship, and sustained career excellence.

Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Excellence in University Teaching Awards (Winner Social Sciences Category).

Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation. Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (exemplary postgraduate teaching and research supervision in Educational Psychology and Special Education).

7 ARC Discovery grants, 1 ARC Linkage grant, 2 NHMRC grants, 1 Australian Rotary Health Research grant, and 15 others.

Houghton, S., Kyron, M., Lawrence, D., Hunter, S.C., Hattie, J., Carroll, A., Zadow, C., & Chen, W. (2022). Longitudinal trajectories of mental health and loneliness for Australian adolescents with-or-without neurodevelopmental disorders: The impact of COVID-19 school lockdowns. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(11), 1332–1343. doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13579

Houghton, S., Kyron, M., Hunter, S. C., Lawrence, D., Hattie, J., Carroll, A., & Zadow, C. (2022). Adolescents' longitudinal trajectories of mental health and loneliness: The impact of COVID‐19 school closures. Journal of Adolescence, 94(2), 191-205. doi.org/10.1002/jad.12017

Stewart, S., Houghton, S.J., Glasgow, K., & Macqueen, L. (2025). Worry and depressive symptoms in adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health (Special Issue, Students’ Education and Mental Health), 22(2), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph22020185

Houghton, S., Lawrence, D., Hunter, S. C., Rosenberg, M., Zadow, C., Wood, L., & Shilton, T. (2018). Reciprocal relationships between trajectories of depressive symptoms and screen media use during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 2453–2467. doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0901-y.

Houghton, S., Lawrence, D., Hunter, S.C., Zadow, C., Kyron, M., Paterson, R., Carroll, A., Christie, R., & Brandtman, M. (2020). Loneliness accounts for the association between diagnosed Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder and symptoms of depression among adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 42(2), 237-247. doi.org/10.1007/s10862-020-09791-x