Deanna is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Black Dog Institute, UNSW, and an honorary postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie University. Her research focuses on understanding the link between reading difficulties and anxiety for children, and developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to support children with these co-occurring difficulties. She has also developed a test called the Reading Anxiety Test - which is a questionnaire intended to measure symptoms of reading anxiety. Versions are currently available for primary and high school aged children, as well as adults. The test is freely available on the MOTIF.

Below are a list of Deanna’s current publications - noting Francis is Deanna’s maiden name.

  1. Francis, D. A., Caruana, N., Hudson, J. L., & McArthur, G. M. (2019). The association between poor reading and internalising problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 67, 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.09.002.

  2. Francis, D., Hudson, J. L., Kohnen, S., Mobach, L., & McArthur, G. M. (2021). The effect of an integrated reading and anxiety intervention for poor readers with anxiety. PeerJ 9:e10987. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10987

  3. Francis, D. A., Hudson, J. L., Robidoux, S., & McArthur, G. M. (2022). Are different reading problems associated with different anxiety types? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36, 793-804. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3970

  4. Francis, D., & McArthur, G. (2020). Poor reading, poor self- concept, and anxiety: a review of the evidence and some practical advice. Learning difficulties Australia bulletin, 52(2), 28-30. https://www.ldaustralia.org/Bulletin/Francis%20and%20McArthur%20-%20Poor%20reading,%20poor%20self-concept,%20and%20anxiety.pdf

  5. McArthur, G., Sheehan, Y., Badcock, N. A., Francis, D. A., Wang, H. C., Kohnen, S., Banales, E., Anandakumar, T., Marinus, E., & Castles, A. (2018). Phonics training for English-speaking poor readers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 11. Art. No.: CD009115.
    DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009115.pub3.

  6. McArthur, G. M,, Filardi, N., Francis, D. A., Boyes, M. E., & Badcock, N. A. (2020). Self-concept in poor readers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ , 8:e8772. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8772

  7. McArthur, G. M., Filardi, N., Francis, D. A., Boyes, M. E., & Badcock, N. A. (2020). Self-concept in poor readers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ, 8, e8772.

  8. McArthur, G. M., Francis, D., Caruana, N., Boyes, M. E., & Badcock, N. A. (2016). Self-concept in poor readers: a systematic review protocol. PeerJ Preprints, 4:e2062v1. https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2062v1

  9. Spoelma, M. J., Sicouri, G. L., Francis, D. A., Songco, A. D., Daniel, E. K., & Hudson, J. L. (2023). Estimated Prevalence of Depressive Disorders in Children From 2004 to 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Pediatr, 177(10). 1017–1027. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3221

  10. Ko, K., Jones, A., Francis, D. A., Robidoux, S., & McArthur, G. (2023). Physiological indicators of anxiety in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/u6hkg

  11. Robidoux, S., Edlund, K., McArthur, G., Francis, D. A., Torppa, M., Aro, T. (2023). Reading and psychosocial development in Finnish children: Poor reading is associated with later anxiety.

    PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p7jrc

  12. Hodge A, Sutherland R, Ong N, Chan E, Barnett D, Bennett B, Boulton K, Francis D, Guastella A, Papanicolaou A, Tomsic G, Williamsz M, Silove N. Telehealth assessment of autism in preschoolers using the TELE-ASD-PEDS: A pilot clinical investigation. Int J Speech Lang Pathol. 2023 Dec 18:1-17. doi: 10.1080/17549507.2023.2270187. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38105699.