pathway: Psychology Alumni

Understanding the complex aetiology of mental health is a crucial, and pressing area of research, with the ultimate aim of helping individuals to remain mentally healthy across the life-course. Using methods from epidemiology, psychology, behavioural genetics, statistical genetics and epigenetics, my research will explore why some individuals are more resilient than others when presented with life’s stresses and strains, and the role that genetic and environmental factors play in promoting resilience and wellbeing.

I am currently researching prevalence and consequences of traumatic brain injury in adolescent and young adults with offending behaviour. My research investigates the neurocognitive and neuroaffective profiles of those with and without injury in the criminal justice system, focusing particularly on the capacity for socioemotional processing and facial affect recognition. We are also investigating these profiles in members of the general population and exploring whether deficits can be addressed using digital intervention strategies in prison settings.

Broadly speaking, my research is investigating the impact of caregiving at a young age from a biopsychosocial and a resiliency perspective. Ultimately, I am attempting to identify coping factors which may contribute to positive adjustment and determine whether this has an impact upon physiological health.

Broadly speaking my research is concerned with parental distress and parental post-traumatic stress disorder, how this impacts on parenting behaviours and subsequently how this may impact on the child.

Facial expressions are an important source of information about other people’s state of mind/emotions (Neumann et al., 2014), however brain injury patients have been shown to suffer from deficits in facial affect recognition (Babbage et al., 2011). Furthermore, anxiety has been associated with facial affect recognition difficulties (Demenescu et al., 2010). Using the Bristol Emotion Recognition Task (BERT; http://www.cambridgecognition.com/tests/emotion-recognition-task-ert) my PhD investigates facial affect recognition following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and consider the impact other factors, e.g. anxiety, may be having on task performance. The aim is to further understanding about underlying causes of facial affect recognition difficulties after TBI.

My research investigates how response inhibition training can modify and improve driving behaviours. Many drivers have inappropriate driving habits in response to environmental cues; the training targets these cue-behaviour links with the aim of creating safer driving habits. The project will explore a range of dangerous driving behaviours and determine under which conditions response inhibition training is most effective in improving driving.

The goal of the research is to develop an intervention in collaboration with industry partners to allow drivers to use such training in the real world, specifically aimed at those who have been on a driver retraining programme.

My research will examine if within-individual change in emotion can explain when and why individuals engage in prosocial action. That is, can dynamic change in emotion – such as anger – explain the ‘tipping point’ at which someone decides to take action. Almost all relevant previous research has examined variation between individuals, for example, those higher in anger are more likely to act. This research will be novel in that it will test whether change in emotions from one time point to another predicts change in prosocial behaviour; can people’s engagement in prosocial action be predicted by the process of becoming angry, rather than just being angry at a particular point in time?

Childhood trauma exposure is associated with a range of negative psychological outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Parents are often children’s main source of support following a trauma; however, little is known about the experiences of parents in caring for their child following a traumatic event. Therefore, this research aims to investigate parental responses and experiences following child trauma exposure. Parent behaviours and responses to their child, the effect on the family, and parent perceptions of (need for) support following the child’s trauma will be explored to investigate parent’s experiences and the ways in which parents support their child post-trauma.

My research looks to explore the role of social identity in communities undergoing urban regeneration. Using the framework of social identity and social cure, I aim to explore community relations within areas of high deprivation and poverty. Taking a mixed methods approach which works collaboratively with Plymouth Council, I aim to develop our understanding of the social dynamics within these communities and the impact that regeneration schemes may have. The PhD hopes to implement small scale interventions that will incorporate identity building techniques into regeneration strategies, resulting in increased levels of engagement and sustainability within these areas.