Francesca Zecchinato

My main research interests focus on improving the mental health of children and young people, particularly through supporting parents in promoting their children’s mental health. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of mental health difficulties and in developing intervention and prevention strategies to support parents, especially during the perinatal period and early childhood.

As part of my postdoctoral role, I am involved in the Wellcome Trust-funded GLOW-CAT study (Growing Local OSI Worldwide for Child Anxiety Treatment), aimed at translating, culturally adapting and testing the effectiveness the Online Support Intervention (OSI) for child anxiety in diverse settings worldwide.

I have previously worked as a Research Fellow within the NIHR ARC Wessex Mental Health Hub at the University of Southampton, completing a mixed-methods project aimed at identifying support needs among paramedics in managing patients presenting mental health issues. Previous to this, I completed a PhD in Psychology at the University of Southampton, where I focused on the risk posed by parental anxiety to their children and on strategies to promote the mental health of children with anxious parents​.

I use both quantitative and qualitative methods in my research and pose great value in the involvement of experts by experience (via Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement) throughout the research process.