Sinead Smyth
DR
Dr. Sinéad Smyth is an Associate Professor and Head of the School of Psychology at Dublin City University (DCU). She holds a BA in Psychology, a PhD, a Postgraduate Diploma in Sleep Medicine, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She is chair of the MSc in Psychology and Wellbeing.
One strand of Sinéad’s research focuses on co-developing inclusive solutions in collaboration with neurodivergent populations, including those with ADHD and Autism, as well as their families. Her work is centred on topics of interest to these communities, with an emphasis on understanding how neurodivergent individuals navigate environments that were not designed with their needs in mind. She works collaboratively to explore ways to create more supportive, accessible, and equitable educational, health and social experiences, ensuring that strategies are relevant and beneficial.
In addition to her work with neurodivergent populations, Dr. Smyth investigates the impact of ACEs on children and adolescents. She explores how early life adversities can affect mental health, social relationships, and academic achievement, and works collaboratively with affected communities to develop support mechanisms that help mitigate these challenges.
Sinéad also conducts research on sleep, focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations. She examines the role of sleep in cognitive and emotional functioning, with a particular focus on children, young people and families.
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Egan, Cillian; McLaughlin, Nadine; McGarrell, Maria; Gurrin, Cathal; Devlin, Sarah; Smyth, Sinead (2024) 'Expert Consensus on the Resource Needs of Autistic Children and Young People in Ireland During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic'. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 36 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Nic Ghiolla Phadraig, A.; Smyth, S. (2023) 'Sleep mediates the relationship between having an autistic child and poor family functioning'. Sleep Medicine, 101 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Bohan, C.; McDowell, C.; Smyth, S. (2022) 'Does the Immediacy of Feedback Matter in Game-Based Classroom Management? Analysis of the Caught Being Good Game With Adolescent Students'. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 24 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Bohan, C.; Smyth, S. (2023) 'The Effect of Schedule Thinning on Student Behavior During the Caught Being Good Game'. Behavior Modification, 47 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Forde, J.J.; Smyth, S. (2022) 'Avoidance Behavior in Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder is Related to Quality of Life'. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 34 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Sinéad Smyth, Nadine Mc Laughlin, Cillian Egan, Cathal Gurrin, Katie Quinn, Maria McGarrell, Sarah Devlin (2021) 'Study protocol for autism specific transition resources (T-Res Study): developing a flexible resource package for dealing with the loosening and/or lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]'. HRB Open Research, 4 (12). https://doi.org/10.12688/hrbopenres.13155.1 | |
| 2021 | Smyth, S.; Mc Laughlin, N.; Egan, C.; Gurrin, C.; Quinn, K.; McGarrell, M.; Devlin, S. (2021) 'Study protocol for autism specific transition resources (T-Res Study): developing a flexible resource package for dealing with the loosening and/or lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions'. HRB Open Research, 4 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Leonard, Noelle M.; Smyth, Sinead (2022) 'Does training matter? Exploring teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in mainstream education in Ireland'. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 26 (7). [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Bohan, C.; Smyth, S.; McDowell, C. (2021) 'An Evaluation of the Caught Being Good Game With an Adolescent Student Population'. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 23 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | O’Neill, S.J.; Smyth, S.; Smeaton, A.; O’Connor, N.E. (2020) 'Assistive technology: Understanding the needs and experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disability in Ireland and the UK'. Assistive technology : the official journal of RESNA, 32 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Barron, R; Leslie, JC; Smyth, S (2018) 'Teaching Real-World Categories Using Touchscreen Equivalence-Based Instruction'. Psychological Record, 68 :89-101. [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Sean Hughes, Dermot Barnes-Holmes, Sinead Smyth (2017) 'Implicit Cross-Community Biases Revisited: Evidence for Ingroup Favoritism in the Absence of Outgroup Derogation in Northern Ireland'. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD, 67 (1):97-107. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Cantwell, M.; Walsh, D.; Furlong, B.; Moyna, N.; McCaffrey, N.; Boran, L.; Smyth, S.; Woods, C. (2018) 'Healthcare professionals' knowledge and practice of physical activity promotion in cancer care: Challenges and solutions'. European Journal of Cancer Care, 27 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Smyth, S; Reading, BE; McDowell, C (2017) 'The impact of staff training on special educational needs professionals' attitudes toward and understanding of applied behavior analysis'. Journal of intellectual disabilities : JOID, 23 (4). [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Costello, K.M.; Smyth, S. (2017) 'Group contingencies to increase school and project attendance in at-risk adolescents: A pilot study'. Education and Treatment of Children, 40 . [Link] | |
| 2014 | Hyland, J.M.; Smyth, S.; O’Hora, D.P.; Leslie, J.C. (2014) 'The Effect of Before and After Instructions on the Speed of Sequential Responding'. Psychological Record, 64 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2012 | Hyland, J., O’Hora, D., Leslie, J. & Smyth S (2012) 'Sequential responding in accordance with temporal relational cues: A comparison of ‘Before’ and ‘After’ cues'. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD, 62 :463-484. | |
| 2011 | Brysbaert, M. & Smyth, S. (2011) 'Self-enhancement in scientific research: The self-citation bias'. PSYCHOLOGICAL BELGICA, 51 . | |
| 2009 | Derakshan, N., Smyth, S., & Eysenck, M.W. (2009) 'Effects of state anxiety on task-switching: An investigation of attentional control theory'. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16 :1112-1117. | |
| 2008 | Smyth S., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2008) 'Acquired equivalence in human discrimination learning: Mediated generalization and verbal processes'. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 34 :167-177. | |
| 2007 | O’Toole, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Smyth, S. (2007) 'A derived transfer of functions and the implicit association test'. Journal of the experimental analysis of behaviour, 88 :263-283. | |
| 2006 | Smyth, S., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Forsyth, J. P. (2006) 'A Derived Transfer of Simple Discrimination and Self-reported anxiety functions in spider fearful and non-spider fearful participants'. Journal of the experimental analysis of behaviour, 85 :223-246. | |
| 2024 | O’Neill, S.J.; Smyth, S. (2024) 'Using off-the-shelf solutions as assistive technology to support the self-management of academic tasks for autistic university students'. Assistive technology : the official journal of RESNA, 36 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Russell, A.; Smyth, S. (2023) 'Using a 10-day mindfulness-based app intervention to reduce burnout in special educators'. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 23 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Nguyen, TN; Le, TK; Ninh, VT; Caputo, A; Healy, G; Smyth, S; Tran, MT; Binh, NT (2022) 'LifeSeeker: an interactive concept-based retrieval system for lifelog data'. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 82 (24). [DOI] | |
| 2025 | Cassidy, S; O'Shea, D; Smyth, S (2025) 'Disguising symptoms and a lack of treatment options: living with obstructive sleep apnea before, during and after diagnosis'. Psychology, health & medicine, . [DOI] | |
| 2025 | Ryan, E.; Smyth, S. (2025) 'Does interoceptive sensibility mediate the relationship between alexithymia and sleep quality?'. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 20 . [Link] [DOI] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Le, T.K.; Ninh, V.T.; Dang-Nguyen, D.T.; Tran, M.T.; Zhou, L.; Redondo, P.; Smyth, S.; Gurrin, C. (2019) LSC 2019 - Proceedings of the ACM Workshop on Lifelog Search Challenge LifeSeeker - Interactive lifelog search engine at LSC 2019 [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Corrigan, O.; Glynn, M.; McKenna, A.; Smeaton, A.; Smyth, S. (2015) Proceedings of the European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL Student data: Data is knowledge: Putting the knowledge back in the students' hands [Link] | |
| 2015 | Corrigan, O.; Smeaton, A.F.; Glynn, M.; Smyth, S. (2015) Using educational analytics to improve test performance [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Corrigan, Owen; Glynn, Mark; McKenna, Aisling; Smeaton, Alan; Smyth, Sinead (2015) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 14TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON R-LEARNING (ECEL 2015) Student Data: Data is Knowledge: Putting the Knowledge Back in the Students' Hands |
Other Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Laverty, B.; Puthezhath Jayanandan, S.; Smyth, S. (2023) Understanding the relationship between sleep and quality of life in type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of the literature. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Cassidy, S; Harvey, L; Smyth, S (2022) Examining the relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea and eating behaviours and attitudes: A systematic review. [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Russell, A.; Scriney, A.; Smyth, S. (2023) Educator Attitudes Towards the Inclusion of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Mainstream Education: a Systematic Review. [Link] [DOI] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2025) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Research Interests
Sinéad's research interests are in the areas of understanding and changing behaviour in health and educational contexts. Specific interests include sleep in clinical and non-clinical populations; exploring the complex relationships between sleep and health (cognitive, psychological, social and physical); game based behaviour change with children; inclusion and inclusive education; impacts and buffers of adverse childhood experiences; and neurodiversity.
Teaching Interests
Sinéad teaches on the BSc in Psychology. Her modules include NS219 Personality Psychoology, NS229 Experimetnal Beahviour Analysis, NS336 ABA across the lifespan and NS4538 Programming for experimental Psychology. She is also coordinator of the Psychology INTRA placement modules.