Dr Christa Lam-Cassettari

Senior Research Associate

B. Psych (Hons). PhD, Developmental Psychology

Medicine & Health
School of Clinical Medicine

Christa Lam-Cassettari is a Senior Research Associate in the School of Psychiatry, UNSW, Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry South West Sydney (AUCS), and Clinical Trial Coordinator for an NHMRC funded partnerships project awarded to Professor Valsamma Eapen and colleagues entitled Watch Me Grow Integrated Approach – WMG-I: Changing practice to improve universal child health and developmental surveillance in the primary care setting. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and economic cost of the Watch Me Grow – Integrated (WMG-I) intervention and to explore stakeholder and community requirements of child developmental checks in the preschool years.  
 
Previous roles include a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Nottingham/NIHR Biomedical Research Unit conducting a Phase 1 Randomised Control Trial investigating the effect of a video-feedback intervention on parent–child communication in the context of congenital child hearing loss; a Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation funded Research Fellowship at Western Sydney University, The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development BabyLab examining the relationship between vocal emotion in parents' infant-directed speech and early word learning in Sweden and Australia. Christa was the interim Academic Leader BabyLab 2018-2020. Research interests include: quantitative and qualitative differences in infant-directed speech (IDS) input and the role of IDS in supporting early language, emotional availability and social-emotional development in children from 0-5 years of age; similarities and differences in emotional expression and parent-child interactions with mothers and fathers; the effect of postnatal depression on parent-child communication; and the role of family centred early interventions in improving child outcomes. Lam-Cassettari obtained her PhD examining the influence of infant hearing loss on mother-infant interaction: Implications for infant-directed speech, infant responsiveness and vocabulary development. She holds an Adjunct Fellowship at The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development. 

  • Book Chapters | 2014
    Wadnerkar-Kamble MM; Lam-Cassettari C; James DM, 2014, 'Making a Complex Family Centred Intervention–Based Research Fully Inclusive and Data Driven: An Exploratory Study Using Single Cases', in SAGE Research Methods Cases, SAGE Publications, Ltd., http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978144627305013512764
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Ahinkorah BO; Lam-Cassettari C; John JR; Eapen V, 2024, 'Prospective associations between early childhood mental health concerns and formal diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders in adolescence', Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1356037
    Journal articles | 2024
    Barr KR; Hawker P; Winata T; Wang S; Smead M; Ignatius H; Kohlhoff J; Schmied V; Jalaludin B; Lawson K; Liaw ST; Lingam R; Page A; Lam-Cassettari C; Boydell K; Lin PI; Katz I; Dadich A; Raman S; Grace R; Doyle AK; McClean T; Di Mento B; Preddy J; Woolfenden S; Eapen V, 2024, 'Family member and service provider experiences and perspectives of a digital surveillance and service navigation approach in multicultural context: a qualitative study in identifying the barriers and enablers to Watch Me Grow-Electronic (WMG-E) program with a culturally diverse community', BMC health services research, 24, pp. 978, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11397-y
    Journal articles | 2024
    Brice F; Lam-Cassettari C; Gerstl B; Eapen V; Lin PI, 2024, 'Evaluating the Link between Visual Attention Bias and Emotion Dysregulation of Young Children', Psychiatric Quarterly, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11126-024-10089-4
    Journal articles | 2023
    Schwarz IC; Marklund E; Marklund U; Gustavsson L; Lam-Cassettari C, 2023, 'Affect in Infant-Directed Speech of Swedish-Speaking Mothers and Fathers to 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-Month-Old Infants', Language Learning and Development, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2023.2239801
    Journal articles | 2022
    Antoniou M; Estival D; Lam-Cassettari C; Li W; Dwyer A; de Almeida Neto A, 2022, 'Predicting Mental Health Status in Remote and Rural Farming Communities: Computational Analysis of Text-Based Counseling', JMIR Formative Research, 6, pp. e33036, http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/33036
    Journal articles | 2022
    Eapen V; Liaw ST; Lingam R; Woolfenden S; Jalaludin B; Page A; Kohlhoff J; Scott JG; Lawson KD; Lam-Cassettari C; Heussler H; Descallar J; Karlov L; Ong N; Colditz PB; Littlewood R; Murphy E; Deering A; Short K; Garg P; Blight V; Rodgers K; Chalmers L; Webb KL; Atkins H; Newcomb D; Beswick R; Thomas C; Marron C; Chambers A; Scheinpflug S; Statham M; Samaranayake D; Chay P; Tam CWM; Khan F; Diaz AM; Cibralic S; Winata T; Pritchard M; Liaw T; Mendoza Diaz A, 2022, 'Watch me grow integrated (WMG-I): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of a web-based surveillance approach for developmental screening in primary care settings', BMJ Open, 12, pp. e065823, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065823
    Journal articles | 2022
    Eapen V; Winata T; Gilbert M; Nair R; Khan F; Lucien A; Islam R; Masi A; Lam-Cassettari C; Mendoza Diaz A; Dissanayake C; Karlov L; Descallar J; Eastwood J; Hasan I; Jalaludin B; Kohlhoff J; Liaw ST; Lingam R; Ong N; Tam CWM; Woolfenden S; Barbaro J; Liaw T, 2022, 'Parental experience of an early developmental surveillance programme for autism within Australian general practice: A qualitative study', BMJ Open, 12, pp. 1 - 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064375
    Journal articles | 2022
    Jones C; Kalashnikova M; Khamchuang C; Best CT; Bowcock E; Dwyer A; Hammond H; Hendy C; Jones K; Kaplun C; Kemp L; Lam-Cassettari C; Li W; Mattock K; Odemis S; Short K, 2022, 'A short-form version of the Australian English Communicative Development Inventory', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24, pp. 341 - 351, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2021.1981446
    Journal articles | 2022
    Khamchuang C; Jones C; Gilbert E; Mattock K; Lam-Cassettari C, 2022, 'Suitability of vocabulary assessments: Comparing child scores and parent perspectives on communicative inventories for Aboriginal families in Western Sydney', International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24, pp. 271 - 282, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2022.2045357
    Journal articles | 2021
    Dwyer A; De Almeida Neto A; Estival D; Li W; Lam-Cassettari C; Antoniou M, 2021, 'Suitability of text-based communications for the delivery of psychological therapeutic services to rural and remote communities: Scoping review', JMIR Mental Health, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/19478
    Journal articles | 2021
    Eapen V; Woolfenden S; Schmied V; Jalaludin B; Lawson K; Liaw ST; Lingam R; Page A; Cibralic S; Winata T; Mendoza Diaz A; Lam-Cassettari C; Burley J; Boydell K; Lin P; Masi A; Katz I; Dadich A; Preddy J; Bruce J; Raman S; Kohlhoff J; Descallar J; Karlov L; Kaplun C; Arora A; Di Mento B; Smead M; Doyle K; Grace R; McClean T; Blight V; Wood A; Raine KH; Lin D; Lin P, 2021, '“Watch Me Grow- Electronic (WMG-E)” surveillance approach to identify and address child development, parental mental health, and psychosocial needs: study protocol', BMC Health Services Research, 21, pp. 1240, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07243-0
    Journal articles | 2021
    Lam-Cassettari C; Peter V; Antoniou M, 2021, 'Babies detect when the timing is right: Evidence from event-related potentials to a contingent mother-infant conversation', Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 48, pp. 100923, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100923
    Journal articles | 2021
    Masi A; Azim SI; Lam-Cassettari C; Dadds M; Diaz AM; Henry G; Karlov L; Lin PI; Mallitt KA; Montgomery A; Strnadová I; Whitehouse A; Eapen V; Mendoza Diaz A, 2021, 'Co-design of a neurodevelopment assessment scale: A study protocol', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, pp. 12837, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312837
    Journal articles | 2020
    Lam-Cassettari C; Kohlhoff J, 2020, 'Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development', PLoS ONE, 15, pp. e0236787, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236787
    Journal articles | 2020
    Wadnerkar Kamble M; Lam-Cassettari C; James DM, 2020, 'Communication Skills and Communicative Autonomy of Prelinguistic Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Application of a Video Feedback Intervention', FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01983
    Journal articles | 2019
    Hogarth L; Lam-Cassettari C; Pacitti H; Currah T; Mahlberg J; Hartley L; Moustafa A, 2019, 'Intact goal-directed control in treatment-seeking drug users indexed by outcome-devaluation and Pavlovian to instrumental transfer: critique of habit theory', European Journal of Neuroscience, 50, pp. 2513 - 2525, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejn.13961
    Journal articles | 2014
    Lam-Cassettari C; Wadnerkar-Kamble MB; James DM, 2014, 'Enhancing Parent-Child Communication and Parental Self-Esteem With a Video-Feedback Intervention: Outcomes With Prelingual Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children', Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 20, pp. 266 - 274, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/deafed/env008
    Journal articles | 2013
    James DM; Wadnerkar-Kamble MB; Lam-Cassettari C, 2013, 'Video feedback intervention: A case series in the context of childhood hearing impairment', International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 48, pp. 666 - 678, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12039
    Journal articles | 2012
    James DM; Wadnerkar MB; Lam-Cassettari C; Kang S; Telling AL, 2012, 'Thin slice sampling of video footage for mother/child interaction: Application to single cases', Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 34, pp. 351 - 360, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10862-012-9282-9
    Journal articles | 2012
    Lam C; Kitamura C, 2012, 'Mommy, speak clearly: Induced hearing loss shapes vowel hyperarticulation', Developmental Science, 15, pp. 212 - 221, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01118.x
    Journal articles | 2011
    Lam-Cassettari C; Wadnerkar MB; James D, 2011, 'C066 The early vocal development of children with cochlear implants during dyadic interaction with their mothers', International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 75, pp. 45 - 45, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0165-5876(11)70234-8
    Journal articles | 2011
    Wadnerkar MB; Lam-Cassettari C; Telling A; James D, 2011, 'E066 Enhancing maternal contingency using a video based rehabilitation with children with cochlear implants', International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 75, pp. 73 - 73, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0165-5876(11)70374-3
    Journal articles | 2010
    Lam C; Kitamura C, 2010, 'Maternal interactions with a hearing and hearing-impaired twin: Similarities and differences in speech input, interaction quality, and word production', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53, pp. 543 - 555, http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2010/09-0126)
    Journal articles | 2009
    Kitamura C; Lam C, 2009, 'Age-specific preferences for infant-directed affective intent', Infancy, 14, pp. 77 - 100, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15250000802569777
  • Preprints | 2024
    Barr K; Hawker P; Winata T; Wang S; Smead M; Ignatius H; Kohlhoff J; Schmied V; Jalaludin B; Lawson K; Liaw S-T; Lingam R; Page A; Lam-Cassettari C; Boydell K; Lin D; Katz I; Dadich A; Raman S; Grace R; Doyle AK; McClean T; Mento BD; Preddy J; Woolfenden S; Eapen V, 2024, Family member and service provider experiences and perspectives of a digital surveillance and service navigation approach: A qualitative study with a culturally diverse community, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4185121/v1
    Preprints | 2024
    Hawker P; Barr K; Winata T; Wang S; Smead M; Kohlhoff J; Schmied V; Jalaludin B; Lawson K; Liaw S-T; Lingam R; Page A; Lam-Cassettari C; Boydell K; Lin D; Katz I; Dadich A; Raman S; Grace R; Doyle AK; McClean T; Mento BD; Preddy J; Woolfenden S; Eapen V, 2024, Parent and Service Provider Perspectives of a Digital Developmental Surveillance and Service Navigation Program, Watch Me Grow Electronic (WMG-E), in Rural and Regional Australia: A Qualitative Study, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4178967/v1
    Preprints | 2024
    John JR; Lam-Cassettari C; Dissanayake C; Eapen V, 2024, Sociodemographic and clinical indicators associated with quality of life among parents of autistic children, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4356242/v1
    Preprints | 2021
    Antoniou M; Estival D; Lam-Cassettari C; Li W; Dwyer A; Neto ADA, 2021, Predicting Mental Health Status in Remote and Rural Farming Communities: Computational Analysis of Text-Based Counseling (Preprint), , http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/preprints.33036
    Preprints | 2020
    Dwyer A; de Almeida Neto A; Estival D; Li W; Lam-Cassettari C; Antoniou M, 2020, Suitability of Text-Based Communications for the Delivery of Psychological Therapeutic Services to Rural and Remote Communities: Scoping Review (Preprint), http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/preprints.19478
    Conference Papers | 2008
    Lam C; Kitamura C, 2008, '"Your baby can't hear you": How mothers talk to infants with simulated hearing loss', in Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association, INTERSPEECH, ISCA-INT SPEECH COMMUNICATION ASSOC, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA, pp. 1971, presented at 9th Annual Conference of the International-Speech-Communication-Association (INTERSPEECH 2008), Brisbane, AUSTRALIA, 22 September 2008 - 26 September 2008, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000277026101065&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1