Rate My Professor Peter Butterworth

Professor Peter Butterworth is a Professor in the School of Psychology, Faculty of Health at Deakin University, serving as a research-intensive academic in the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development (SEED) Lifespan. His academic qualifications include a PhD in psychology and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Queensland, complemented by a Master of Biostatistics from the University of Sydney. Butterworth's academic career encompasses expertise in psychology, biostatistics, and psychiatric epidemiology. He previously held a professorial appointment at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, where he continues as an Honorary Professor. His research trajectory has involved significant contributions to major longitudinal studies, including the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey and the PATH Through Life study.

Butterworth's research specializations center on public health, epidemiology, and health services and systems, with a particular emphasis on the social causes and consequences of common mental disorders across the lifecourse. He pursues policy-relevant investigations, fostering partnerships with policymakers from Commonwealth government departments. Key publications include the highly cited individual participant data meta-analysis 'Accuracy of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for screening to detect major depression' published in the BMJ in 2019; 'Gender differences in depression and anxiety across the adult lifespan: the role of psychosocial mediators' in 2008; 'Financial hardship, socio-economic position and depression: Results from the PATH Through Life Survey' in 2009; 'Effect of lockdown on mental health in Australia: evidence from a natural experiment' in The Lancet Public Health in 2022; and 'Generational differences in mental health trends in the twenty-first century' in PNAS in 2023. These works have advanced understanding of psychosocial mediators, financial stress, employment dynamics, and pandemic impacts on mental health. Butterworth's contributions extend to evaluations of mental health services and gambling risk transitions using nationally representative data.