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Dr Kimberley O’Brien presented her doctoral research on self-esteem and social relationships during a 2009 academic visit to the University of Connecticut, extending her work on children’s transition from primary to secondary school into an international research setting.
Quirky Kid’s contemporaneous record documents Dr O’Brien travelling to the University of Connecticut to meet with developmental researcher Dr Julie Aikins and present her research to postgraduate students.
The research focused on how friendship quality, loneliness, belonging and self-esteem can change as children move from primary to secondary school.
A Monash University research record independently documents Dr O’Brien’s doctoral focus as Self-esteem and social relationships among students in transition to Year 7.
Strengthening the research design
The Connecticut visit provided an opportunity to discuss the project with researchers working in early adolescent friendships and to test ideas about the variables being examined.
Quirky Kid’s historical account records that the discussions helped refine attention to factors including friendship stability and reciprocity, alongside belonging, loneliness and friendship quality.
Research closely connected with clinical practice
The topic reflected concerns frequently seen in child psychology practice. The transition to secondary school can involve changes in peer groups, confidence, belonging and social identity, making it an important developmental period for research and intervention.
Dr O’Brien continued presenting this body of work in Australia, including at the 2009 Australian Association for Research in Education conference and the 2011 APS Educational and Developmental Psychology Conference.
Part of Quirky Kid’s early research history
The UConn visit predates Quirky Kid’s later university partnerships and formal program evaluations, but it reflects an approach that became increasingly important to the organisation: connecting clinical observations with research and external academic input.
