Honorary Research Associate
BSc (Hons); BComm; PhD
James is a Professor of health psychology at James Cook University, an Adjunct Professor at The University of Western Australia, and an Honorary Research Associate at Telethon Kids Institute. He is a co-director of the award-winning Psychology of Active, Healthy Living (PAHL) group. PAHL is a cross-institutional health psychology group involving James Cook University, the University of Western Australia, and Telethon Kids Institute. In his role in PAHL, James works with researchers, students, industry, government, the non-profit sector, and the media to improve health outcomes in various populations.
PAHL's (and James's) mission is to harness the 'power of people' to promote mental and physical health in people from all walks of life. The group has developed, delivered, and evaluated numerous community programs that have helped thousands of Australians to live happier and healthier lives. Among other things, PAHL has helped people to lose weight, improve their mental health, make better dietary choices, be more physically active, and feel less stressed at work and home.
James has published in excess of 125 articles in peer-reviewed journals, has written or edited dozens of books or book chapters, and has won over $3.5 million in competitive research funding. He has supervised (to completion) in excess of 60 research students, and has won multiple awards for his teaching and student support. James is most interested in translational health psychology, undertaking research at all ends of the bench-to-bedside spectrum with an eye to community impact. In 2019, he was recognised as a University of Western Australia Innovation Fellow due to his--and PAHL's--work on novel community health interventions.
James is a member of the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, a member of the Mental Health & Exercise Research Group, an affiliate member of the Researchers in Behavior Sequence Analysis group, and an international faculty member of the Motivation in Educational Research Laboratory. He is Chair of JCU's Department of Psychology Research Committee and a JCU College of Healthcare Sciences Ethics Advisor. James previously served as an Associate Editor for Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport as well as Psychology of Sport and Exercise. He is currently Deputy Editor at Stress & Health, and serves on the Editorial Boards for International Review of Sport and Exericse Psychology; Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology; and Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology.
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Projects
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Publications
October 2023
The Right Advice, from the Right Person, in the Right Way: Non-Engaged Consumer Families’ Preferences for Lifestyle Intervention Design Relating to Severe Obesity in Childhood
Family-based lifestyle interventions for children/adolescents with severe levels of obesity are numerous, but evidence indicates programs fail to elicit short- or longer-term weight loss outcomes. Families with lived experience can provide valuable insight as we strive to improve outcomes from programs. Our aim was to explore elements that families desired in a program designed to treat severe levels of obesity in young people.
Diabetes (Type 1) Published research Early Childhood Development ORIGINS Diabetes and Obesity Psychology of Active, Healthy Living Child and adolescent healthAugust 2023Psychological Flow Scale (PFS): Development and Preliminary Validation of a New Flow Instrument that Measures the Core Experience of Flow to Reflect Recent Conceptual Advancements
In this study, we sought to develop—and provide preliminary validity evidence for scores derived from—a new Psychological Flow Scale (PFS). We propose a parsimonious model of three core dimensions of flow, reflecting the findings from a recent scoping review that synthesised flow research across scientific disciplines.
Published research Psychology of Active, Healthy LivingNovember 2023The Stride program: Feasibility and pre-to-post program change of an exercise service for university students experiencing mental distress
Rates of mental illness are disproportionately high for young adult and higher education (e.g., university student) populations. As such, universities and tertiary institutions often devote significant efforts to services and programs that support and treat mental illness and/or mental distress. However, within that portfolio of treatment approaches, structured exercise has been relatively underutilised and greater research attention is needed to develop this evidence base.
Published research Youth mental health Psychology of Active, Healthy Living Mental health Physical activityJun 2023‘It’s been a lifelong thing for me’: parents’ experiences of facilitating a healthy lifestyle for their children with severe obesity
For parents and guardians, assisting children/adolescents with severe obesity to lose weight is often a key objective but a complex and difficult challenge. Our aim in this study was to explore parents' (and guardians') perspectives on the challenges they have faced in assisting their children/adolescents with severe obesity to lead a healthy lifestyle.
ORIGINS Diabetes and Obesity Subsite: ORIGINS Project Psychology of Active, Healthy LivingDecember 2022Climate Change is an Emerging Threat to Perinatal Mental Health
In this discussion, we build the case for why climate change is an emerging threat to perinatal mental health
Published research Psychology of Active, Healthy LivingAugust 2022MAN v FAT Soccer: Feasibility Study and Preliminary Efficacy of a Sport-Based Weight-Loss Intervention for Overweight and Obese Men in Australia
MAN v FAT Soccer is a sport-based weight-loss program for overweight and obese men that originated in the United Kingdom (i.e., as MAN v FAT Football) and appears to successfully engage men with weight loss.
Published research Psychology of Active, Healthy LivingAugust 2022Perceptions of a family-based lifestyle intervention for children with overweight and obesity: a qualitative study on sustainability, self-regulation, and program optimization
Family-based lifestyle interventions (FBLIs) are an important method for treating childhood weight problems. Despite being recognized as an effective intervention method, the optimal structure of these interventions for children’s overweight and obesity has yet to be determined.
Published research Early Childhood Development Nutrition Youth Health Psychology of Active, Healthy Living -
Education and Qualifications