Author Archives: Robert Dempsey

World Bipolar Day 2017: Raising awareness & new research at Staffordshire University

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This Thursday (30th March 2017) is the annual World Bipolar Day, a day to raise awareness and understanding of Bipolar-related conditions and reduce stigma. World Bipolar Day is held on the same date as the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, the renowned Dutch artist who likely experienced some form of bipolar-related condition. Dr Robert Dempsey, Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University, conducts research to understand the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of and vulnerability to bipolar.

Dr Dempsey comments that around one in every hundred people experiences a bipolar-related condition. People living with bipolar experience changeable moods including mania, a heightened state associated with increased behavioural activity, energy and speeded thoughts, and depression, including the experience of low mood, sleep difficulties and low energy. There are many other experiences associated with bipolar-related conditions, including increased anxiety, psychosis and other general health-related issues, so people’s experience of bipolar can vary. People living with bipolar also often report difficulties in their social and personal lives, and have an increased risk of dying by suicide compared to the general population. Estimates suggest that around 19% of people with a clinical diagnosis of bipolar die by suicide, but this could be an underestimate given that some people do not come into contact with healthcare services and may not receive a bipolar diagnosis, so the actual rate could be higher. It is important to note that many people with bipolar maintain a high quality of life, self-manage the symptoms associated with a bipolar diagnosis very well, and many attribute positives with their diagnosis such as increased empathy, creativity and enhanced emotions (Lobban et al., 2012).

The research we conduct here at Staffordshire University does not treat bipolar as an ‘abnormal’ experience, rather we see a bipolar continuum on which everyone in the general population is located, with some experiencing more severe and changeable moods than others. We focus on understanding the interaction between psychological and social factors in people’s experiences of bipolar and have conducted various studies in this area (1, 2, 3, 4).

Our current research has investigated the role of appraisals of an individual’s social environment in the experience of suicidality for people living with bipolar. We have conducted qualitative interview studies to understand the role of various social factors in the experience of suicidality for people with bipolar (5), the complex relationship between bipolar and social functioning and vice versa (6), as well as the experience of talking about suicidality in our interviews from the perspective of our participants (7). We are currently analysing data from a quantitative study investigating the prospective predictors of suicidality in a sample of people with bipolar, and have already reported that feelings of defeat and internal entrapment (feelings of being trapped by one’s moods and thoughts) are a predictor of increased suicidal ideation over time (8). By better understanding the psychosocial precursors of suicidality experienced by people with bipolar we can inform the development of more effective, targeted interventions to improve outcomes for people living with bipolar.

I hope that World Bipolar Day helps to raise awareness of bipolar-related conditions, improve the understanding of the varied experiences associated with bipolar, and helps to reduce the stigma that is often associated with bipolar and other related conditions.

Dr Rob Dempsey was also briefly featured on the BBC Radio Stoke news bulletins on 30th March discussing his research into suicidality and bipolar (click here to listen: from 3:15 into the programme).

WBD is an initiative of International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) in collaboration with the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder (ANBD) and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). For more information about World Bipolar Day please visit http://ibpf.org/webform/world-bipolar-day.

Dr Rob Dempsey is Co-Director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, home to psychology-related research at Staffordshire University.  The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines. The Centre has two overarching research streams, Health and Behaviour Change, and Applied Perception and Cognition.

The Centre provides training for PhD students, Research Masters degrees, as well as Professional Doctorates in Clinical and Health Psychology (click here for more details). The Centre also provides bespoke training to private and public organisations, as well as expertise for consultancy research opportunities. For more details about the Centre, its research activities, events and consultancy, please visit our website (click here).

Psychology & Me 2017: How does Psychology impact our everyday lives?

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In the Department of Psychology we love a chance to showcase how psychology can impact you in your everyday life. We were delighted to welcome over 80 guests to the Science Centre on Wednesday 22nd March for our annual event, ‘Psychology and Me‘, which was organised this year by Dr Nichola Street and Dr Daniel Jolley, both Lecturers in Psychology.

‘Psychology and Me’ was an interactive evening showcasing the latest technology and research from Staffordshire University’s Department of Psychology. Guests attending enjoyed the evening of short expert talks on different aspects of Psychology, where we explored if watching television affects children’s creativity, what may affect our memory and how psychology can improve our health behaviour. Dr Daniel Jolley, co-organiser, also spoke about how psychology can help explain why we believe in conspiracy theories.

“Psychologists are learning more about why so many millions of people believe in conspiracy theories and what the potential consequences of conspiracy theories may be.  We all know of at least one conspiracy theory, so it was great to showcase to the guests how psychology can help explain why so many people believe in them”

Visitors then had the chance to get hands-on with a variety of demonstrations of psychology in action, from measuring brainwaves with EEG testing to being involved in a casino-style craps table to explore gambling habits, using iPad technology to demonstrate classic facial illusions, and getting behind the wheel in our driving simulator to test how good your attention is when driving.

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For all the demonstrations, visitors were able to learn the psychology that underpinned the activity, and how it could be applied to them in everyday life. Dr Nichola Street, Lecturer and co-organiser said:

“We were delighted to see each guest getting hands-on with the demonstrations.  There was a real buzz around the Science Centre!  If you were unable to join us, you can find plenty of photos and videos on Twitter via our #StaffsPsychMe hashtag”

            ‘Psychology and Me’ was only made possible with the support of many staff and students throughout the University. Judy David, Head of the Department of Psychology, led this thanks on the evening and has said:

“I’m very grateful to the large numbers of psychology staff and student helpers who were there throughout the evening demonstrating, chatting to visitors and representing their pride in Psychology at Staffordshire University. The feedback received from everyone was excellent and we are already looking forward to next year!”

We look forward to welcoming you to ‘Psychology and Me’ in 2018!

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an open day, please visit: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

For more information about the undergraduate Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the course profiles below:

Fourth Annual Staffs Psychology Student Conference held in March 2017

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Dr Louise Humphreys (Lecturer in Psychology & Level 6 Tutor) blogs about the Fourth Annual Psychology Student Conference held at Staffordshire University in March 2017, featuring talks by our current final year students on their Final Year Research Projects:

This year’s Psychology Student Conference was a huge success and an event that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was lovely to hear about all of the work the students had conducted over this last year. I was very impressed with the quality of the presentations (oral and posters), and the students’ enthusiasm for their work. The level 4 and 5 students that attended found it useful and inspired them for their final year.

Many congratulations to our Prize Winners, Emma Manchester (Best Talk) and Jade Martin (Best Poster), as well as to all our presenters who did a great job presenting their research! Tweets from this year’s conference can be found via #StaffsPsyConf.

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Comments from presenters

“The experience of presenting in front of my peers and lecturers was scary, thrilling, exciting and energising. Having people feedback to me afterwards and show interest in what I was doing has been such a huge confidence boost and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. I would definitely encourage anyone doing a final year project to take the time to present at the conference and I’d say to all other students that it really interesting, informative and great fun to attend. I also want to say a huge thank you to all the lecturers that attended and worked on pulling the conference together on top of all the other work you already have. It’s been such a valuable experience for me and I’m so grateful for the opportunity and support I’ve received. It really makes all the difference.”

Emma Manchester (BSc Psychology & Child Development Student)

“Being a part of the Psychology conference really sums up an amazing journey and how far I have progressed at Staffordshire University. The Psychology conference was one of the highlights of my degree. I was able to share my project with students and lecturers and never felt more accomplished than I did then. When I was in Level 5 I came to the psychology conference and it was great even helped me plan my own project and then to take part at Level 6 was just awesome!”

Steph Slade (L6 BSc Psychology Student)

“Presenting my project also gave me a boost of confidence and motivation after hearing people’s feedback and the general interest in my research. Presenting as a poster was also a great way to interact with people more one-on-one, and is particularly good for people who, like me, get extremely nervous in front of large crowds.”

Jade Martin (L6 BSc Psychology & Criminology Student)

“I really enjoyed the conference. I felt like it gave me the opportunity to use and improve on my presenting skills as well as giving me the confidence and experience to be able to present at other future events.”

Asmah Ahmed (L6 BSc Psychology & Counselling Student)

Comments from level 5 students attending the conference:

“I really enjoyed the conference and found it really interesting. It will definitely be something that I will recommend to my friends, and will myself aspire towards next year”

Ruth Pettitt (L5 BSc Psychology & Child Development Student)

“The conference was really interesting and I’m glad I was able to make it! It was also nice to see the professional relationships that have formed between the final years and staff through working together! Overall it was very useful and enjoyable.”

Sophie Potts (L5 BSc Psychology & Criminology Student)

The psychology conference was really useful to attend; it gives good insight into the vast topic areas you can do for your own project. Even if there isn’t a topic area of your choice, it is still helpful as it shows just what needs to be included and everyone broke each section down – which is really handy… plus the free cake is always a bonus!

Zoe Collins (L5 BSc Psychology & Child Development Student)

 

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an open day, please visit: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

For more information about the undergraduate Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the course profiles below:

Student Blog: “Help! My child’s a neophobe!”

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Dr Sarah Rose (Lecturer in Psychology & Director of the Children’s Lab at Staffordshire University) introduces a blog by a current Staffordshire Psychology & Child Development Student:

Sharing the findings of research in psychology is important. To develop the skills required for this, our third year BSc Psychology and Child Development students have been writing informational blogs aimed at parents. These have been completed as part of a series of tasks designed to develop their ability to share psychological research findings in an informative and engaging way. The work below was written by current student Carol Ashley.

Help! My child’s a neophobe!

It’s official, I am a failure as a mother, I have raised a food neophobe, albeit unwittingly. Apparently, my child’s road to ruin began when she was just 14 months old. Researchers at Queensland University have indicated that the type of foods introduced at this age can determine whether or not a child will be a fussy eater (the neophobe in question) by the time they reach the (very precise) age of 3.7 years.

The 2016 study speaks grandly about “non-core foods” by which I’m assuming they mean the custard creams I gave her (I was trying to finish the ironing). However, on a serious note, I realise I may have been slightly lax when it came to introducing new vegetables and occasionally resorted to the fast food option.

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The research points out the difference between fruit and vegetables never having been offered rather than actually being refused. My daughter balked at her first taste of broccoli and turned up her nose at other vegetables too. Fruit was a different story, she liked every type I gave to her and, in my defence, she ate a lot more fruit than the dreaded non-core foods with their saturated fats, added sugars and salt. Nevertheless, the study suggests that being introduced to different vegetables at 14 months a child would later like more vegetables and fruit, yet eating fruit may not mean they will like more vegetables – still with me? Interestingly the research found no connection between the content of the diet with a toddler’s BMI score, but don’t be fooled – this could affect children as they get older.

As is usually the case there is another school of thought that restricting a child’s diet is counter-productive. In 2014, Rollins, and his colleagues suggested that there may be a link between inherited and environmental influences in the emergence of the fussy eater. So is it my fault that my daughter is partial to the odd chicken nugget or fish finger, has my horror of the “golden arches” and the eerie clown lit an unquenchable flame? Or could it be inherited from me? I cannot look a Brussels sprout in the eye!

Can this pattern be reversed? Well, Webber (2010) states that it takes 8-15 attempts before taste buds become accustomed to flavours, so armed with my trusty steam cooker, I am determined that at the grand age of 3.7 years my tiny neophobe will learn that broccoli is not the root of all evil.

Interested in Psychology? Come to an Open Day & find Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683out more about Psychology courses at Staffordshire University.

Thinking about taking a Psychology degree or a related course? Come to one of Staffordshire University’s Open Days and find out more! Book your place via: www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

Find out about our Psychology degrees, including our highly rated BSc Psychology & Child Development degree and our Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses.

#HomeOfHealthPsychology on Tour: Midlands Health Psychology Network Conference, Coventry

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Dr Amy Burton (Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & Course Director MSc in Health Psychology) blogs about a recent conference trip with staff and students from the Centre for Health Psychology at Staffordshire University.

Staff and students recently attended and presented at the Midlands Health Psychology Network Conference. The event, held at Coventry University on the 2nd March 2017, was attended by over 20 current staff and MSc, Professional Doctorate and PhD students from Staffordshire University.

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Poster contributions included: MSc Student Laura Campbell, who presented her Masters research investigating causal attributions towards people with familial Hypercholesterolaemia; Professional Doctorate student Dayyanah Sumodhee on her exploration of healthy eating in people attempting to quit smoking; and PhD students Sonia Begum, Sian Calvert and Claudia Lega. Staffordshire University also contributed to oral presentations with Professional Doctorate Student Meghan Linscott delivering a well-received talk on the benefits of applying Health Psychology to urban planning.

Meghan Linscott, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology Student

Meghan Linscott, Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology Student

Meghan enjoyed the opportunity to deliver her first presentation at a local friendly conference: “For me, the conference was an excellent opportunity to deliver an oral presentation for the first time. Whilst I am pleased with how it went, I feel confident that my performance will be much better the next time I present at a conference, so this was a very valuable experience for me. For a relatively small conference, I am so pleased it attracts an audience from undergraduate students right through to the influential health psychology figures. I like how varied the talks were and I thought the talks about health psychology and public health were particularly insightful for the whole audience.”

A trip to the conference was built in to the MSc Health Psychology teaching programme to ensure all current students had the opportunity to attend. MSc student Riana Mansfield really enjoyed the experience: “I found the conference was a fantastic opportunity to find out about real-life applications of health psychology in various fields, in some areas which I hadn’t considered before, such as audiology. I enjoyed hearing about the many different career paths health psychology can open the door to and it gave me food  for thought on my potential next steps following my degree. Thank you for the opportunity to attend the conference and to network with professionals and fellow students from different areas sharing the same interest in Health Psychology!”

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#HomeOfHealthPsychology on Tour

MSc student Sam Ridyard also valued the opportunity to learn about future possibilities for Health Psychology careers; “I really enjoyed attending the conference. It was a good opportunity to see what others in our field are involved with and to communicate with others in Health Psychology, and I have come away with a number of ideas about post-MSc avenues to take”.  While MSc student Lucy Field valued the opportunity to network with other Health Psychologists and trainees: “The MHPN was a fantastic conference and we were very lucky to attend as part of our MSc course. It was great to listen to current researchers and connect with health psychologists”.

Once again, as MSc Course Director I was impressed by our Health Psychology students. They all presented extremely well and made sure they took every opportunity to network and discuss their research with others at the conference. I look forward to attending again next year.

The Midlands Health Psychology Network

The MHPN hold a one day conference in February every year which is attended by around 100 members from across the Midlands and is a forum for health psychologists to share clinical and research experiences, information, knowledge and training. Existing members include MSc students, doctorate students, chartered health psychologists based at local NHS sites and regional universities, third sector employees, senior and early career academics, health practitioners and pharmacists. To learn more about the MHPN please visit their website: www.mhpn.co.uk

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology. The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research.

Keep updated with the latest Health Psychology news from Staffordshire University via following us on @StaffsPsych and via the #HealthPsychStaffs hashtag.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Dr Daniel Jolley blogs about his recent research on the psychology of conspiracy theories

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Dr Daniel Jolley (Lecturer in Psychology, Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about his recent research:

In a recent paper published in Political Psychology by myself, Karen Douglas and Robbie Sutton from the University of Kent, we found that conspiracy theories might be a way that people can defend their everyday lifestyle when society is under threat. In other words, conspiracy theories may sometimes bolster rather than undermine support for the social status quo when its legitimacy is threatened.

Conspiracy theories are associated with almost every significant social and political event, such as the suggested theory that the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.  A similar thread throughout conspiracy narratives is that they point accusing fingers at authority (such as the government).  Conspiracy theories single out a small group of perceived wrongdoers who are not representative of society more generally but instead are working against us.  Believing in conspiracy theories may, therefore, give people the opportunity to blame the negative actions on these wrongdoers, thus then bolstering support for the social system in general; blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel.

Mar17 DJ blog

This argument is in line with system justification theory which proposes that we all have a motivation to hold positive views about the society that we live in.  When our society is threatened, however, we seek to defend or bolster the status quo; for example, people may use stereotypes – which are mental shortcuts about different groups of people – to justify differences between people to maintain the status quo that we are used to.  In our new paper, we argue that belief in conspiracy theories may join the ranks of these system-justification processes.

We tested the system-justifying idea across several research studies, using both undergraduate students and members of the general public.  We found that conspiracy theories increased when the legitimacy of society was threatened, and that also being exposed to conspiracy theories increased satisfaction with the status quo when under threat.  We found that conspiracy theories were able to increase satisfaction with society in general because people blamed society’s problems on a small group of wrongdoers, rather than society in general.

This research provides a new understanding of the role that conspiracy theories may place in our society.  To directly quote the end of the paper: “The present results suggest that by pointing fingers at individuals – even groups of individuals charged with operating the system – conspiracy theories may exonerate the system, just as blaming a driver for a car crash shifts blame from the car.”

Reference: Jolley, D., Douglas, K.M, & Sutton R. (in press).  Blaming a few bad apples to save a threatened barrel: The system-justifying function of conspiracy theories.  Political Psychology.

The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is home to research activity in the Psychology Department at Staffordshire Centre. The Centre is home to a number of research-active psychologists who are engaged in research across a wide range of psychological subdisciplines. The Centre has two overarching research streams, Health and Behaviour Change, and Applied Perception and Cognition.

The Centre provides training for PhD students, Research Masters degrees, as well as Professional Doctorates in Clinical and Health Psychology (click here for more details). The Centre also provides bespoke training to private and public organisations, as well as expertise for consultancy research opportunities. For more details about the Centre, its research activities, events and consultancy, please visit our website (click here).

A Training Programme for Practice Nurses: Motivating Dietary Change Among People with Type 2 Diabetes

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[PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED]

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology, in collaboration with Diabetes UK, are facilitating a training programme for Practice Nurses in July 2017.

Changing patients’ attitudes towards dietary change can be quite challenging for Practice Nurses. This training programme aims to address and examine the social, emotional and psychological obstacles that people with diabetes are challenged with when trying to change their diets. The day will also teach you some helpful techniques to encourage and motivate your patients and support them to make to the necessary changes to their dietary behaviour so they can live long and healthy lives.

The programme will be supported by an innovative Resource Pack which has been designed and developed by Dr Rachel Povey (Associate Professor in Health Psychology and Registered Health Psychologist). Resources from the pack will be described throughout the training day, and you will be given the opportunity to practise using them.  At the end of the training day you will be given your own Resource Pack to take home as well as a certificate of attendance.In addition, this study day will be a great opportunity for networking and to discuss professional issues, best practices and share experiences.

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 Event details

The event will be held at our Stoke on Trent, Leek Road Campus, ST4 2DF (Only a short walk away from the Stoke on Trent railway station accessible from Manchester, Birmingham and London)

Date: Wednesday 26th July 2017, 10am – 4:30pm

Delegate Fee: £125.00 – Includes lunch, refreshments and a Resource Pack

Time Activity
10:00 Introduction & Welcome
10:15 Session One:

  1. Type 2 diabetes & its management
  2. Dietary guidelines
  3. Your role as a nurse
  4. Introduction to motivating change
11:00 Refreshment Break
11:30 Session Two: Motivating change
12:30 Diabetes UK: Supporting Primary Care to Achieve Targets
13.00 Lunch
13:45 Session Three:

  1. Perceptions and misperceptions of dietary advice
  2. Putting the message across
14:45 Refreshment Break
15.15 Session Four:

  1. First steps
  2. Making and maintaining changes
16:15 Summary
16.30 CLOSE

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

For any further information concerning this event please contact the events coordinator: Debra Hayes on d.l.hayes@staffs.ac.uk or 01782 294308.

Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology

Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health Psychology is a centre of excellence for teaching and research in Health Psychology, and is home to Staffordshire’s BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology and BPS Accredited Stage 2 Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology.

The Centre for Health Psychology is part of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research and the School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise, one of the leading research-active academic schools for Psychology and Sport degrees situated in the heart of England.

For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Psychology & Me 2017: Upcoming Psychology Event at Staffordshire University

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The Psychology Department at Staffordshire University are very pleased to announce Psychology and Me, a fun and interactive evening with a chance to learn how psychology relates to you and your everyday life. This is your invite to join us!

Psy&Me

Psychology and Me aims to inspire and enthuse you in showcasing how psychology applies to real world issues. There will be three stages to the evening; getting you to ‘listen’, have ‘hands-on; experience and then, a ‘chance to win’.

Psychology and Me: Listen

Have you ever wondered…Is children’s creativity effected by time in front of the TV? Are conspiracy theories harmful? A series of short expert talks will explore these and other fascinating questions.

Psychology and Me: Hands on

Try your hand at learning how our equipment works such as how we tell if you are stressed, how we can measure your brain activity with EEG and how we test your reaction skills in our driving simulator, amongst other fun demonstrations.

Psychology and Me: A chance to win

Having taken part in the hands on activities, you have a chance to win some Love2Shop vouchers. Entry information and winners announced on the night.

Psychology and Me will take place at Staffordshire University’s Science Centre, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, on Wednesday 22nd March 6 – 8:30pm. Click here to view the location of the Science Centre on Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent campus. The event includes free on-site parking and refreshments.

Book Tickets: Reserve your (free) space at https://psychologyandme.eventbrite.com or contact psychologyevents@staffs.ac.uk for more information.

Follow @StaffsPsych and #StaffsPsychMe on Twitter for updates

Feb17 Psych and Me banner

(Artwork designed by our Level 6 student Chris Vale)

Mental Health Research Seminar: “Bipolar Disorder & Suicidality” and “Books, Meaning and Hope”

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Dr Robert Dempsey (Lecturer in Psychology & Co-director of the Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) blogs about a recent seminar on mental health-related research.

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Rob presenting research at the CHAD seminar in November 2016

I was pleased to be able to present some of our ongoing bipolar disorder and suicidality research at a seminar hosted by Staffordshire University’s Centre for Health and Development, a collaboration between the University and local councils (Stoke-on-Trent City and Staffordshire County councils) which focuses on addressing health inequalities. We held the seminar for the second time at the Staffordshire County Council Buildings in Stafford in February 2017, with myself and researchers from the South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust presenting research to a mixed audience of academics, service-users, charity workers, public health staff and representatives from the local councils. (Click here for a write-up of the first seminar)

My talk presented some of the latest findings from our research focusing on understanding the experiences of suicidality amongst people with a bipolar disorder diagnosis, including the need to better understand the psychological pathways to suicidality for people living with bipolar disorder (especially to design appropriate interventions to reduce suicidality). I presented some findings from a new paper investigating the mediating role of perceptions of defeat and entrapment on the experience of suicidal ideation at a four month follow-up amongst a sample of people with bipolar disorder.

Our paper is the first to investigate the role of defeat and entrapment in the experience of suicidality for people with bipolar disorder, despite defeat and entrapment being key predictors of suicidality according to several key theories of suicide and being previously associated with suicidality amongst other groups (e.g. people living with psychosis and post-traumatic stress). Our findings suggest that a sense of ‘internal entrapment’, being trapped by your own thoughts and feelings, explains the relationship between defeat (a sense of low social rank) and suicidal ideation. Interestingly, ‘external entrapment’ (by social circumstances, for example) did not mediate this relationship, suggesting that there is a pathway to suicidality through feeling entrapped by your own thoughts and moods when feeling defeated – which makes sense in the context of bipolar disorder, where many people experience changeable moods and other symptoms which may not always be easy to predict or manage. One possibility is that the experience of bipolar disorder may be a defeating one for some individuals.

I also briefly presented some ongoing analyses into the role of perceived social support on these pathways to suicidality, which seem to indicate that perceptions of social support are important in reducing feelings of defeat and entrapment (prior to feeling suicidal) but not after someone feels defeated/entrapped. We are continuing to analyse this data, but it appears that perceived social support has a specific role in the pathway to suicidality suggesting that boosting individuals’ awareness of their social support resources may lower the risk of feeling defeated/trapped by their thoughts, feelings and current circumstances.

Our defeat/entrapment mediation paper is currently in press and we hope to publish further articles on our suicidality data in the near future:

  • Owen, R., Dempsey, R., Jones, S., & Gooding, P. (in press). Defeat and Entrapment in Bipolar Disorder: Exploring the relationship with suicidal ideation from a psychological theoretical perspective. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

It was also pleasing to hear about some service-user led research into the role of ‘book indexclubs’ for individuals in recovery from various mental health conditions. Dr Joy Thorneycroft and Dr David Dobel-Ober talked about how these book clubs were co-produced between service-users and healthcare staff and aimed to help support service-users in recovery and post-discharge from trusts. Joy and David’s talk included some very interesting qualitative data about the challenges and benefits associated with running these groups, including good practice for running other co-produced groups in the future. What seemed particularly important was that the book groups were informal, unpressured (in terms of having to read a certain number of books per month), and were run in a ‘non-mental health’ setting (i.e. a local library). Their evaluation of these groups suggested that they were particularly helpful with boosting the attendees’ self-confidence and social interaction, if not with more specific issues like concentration difficulties associated with the experience of and recovery from depression.

Both talks highlighted the importance of social support and interaction for improving mental health outcomes and recovery – irrespective of whether support is perceived or based on actual, in-person interactions with others. Giving opportunities for social interaction for those experiencing an ongoing mental health issue, and reinforcing their available support resources, may be critical for improving mental health outcomes.

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research is a hub for research excellence for psychology research at Staffordshire University. The Centre is a lively and active research community, including established academic researchers, early career researchers and postgraduate students. The Centre runs a regular series of public engagement events, including research seminars and Psychology in the Pub talks which are open to the public (click here for more details).

The Centre houses experts from a variety of psychological disciplines, including our renowned Centre for Health Psychology, and offers Postgraduate Training in Research, including Applied Masters by Research courses, MSc in Health Psychology, MPhil/PhDs, as well as taught Professional Doctorates in Health and Clinical Psychology.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

Guidelines on children’s screen time need to be built on evidence

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Dr Sarah Rose (Lecturer in Developmental Psychology & Director of the Staffordshire Children’s Lab) blogs about a recent debate in the media regarding the effects of screen time on children’s development and wellbeing:

A letter published in the Guardian on Christmas day claimed that ‘Screen-based lifestyle harms children’s health’. This was signed by a group of forty writers, psychologists and charity heads who argued that national guidelines on screen based technology are required.

May16 SR Screen free week pic1

The claims for the links between and increasing screen-based lifestyle and children’s wellbeing are not supported by the evidence. I am delighted to have been able to add my support to this response from a group of academics and expert practitioners published by the Guardian last week. In this we argue that screen time guidelines need to be built on evidence, not hype or scaremongering.

Of course the wellbeing of children is important and the impact of screen-based lifestyle requires investigation but currently there is insufficient research evidence on which to base National Guidelines. Rather than focusing on quantity alone, evidence is needed regarding context of use (where, when and how digital media are accessed), content (what is being watched or used), and connections (whether and how relationships are facilitated or impeded).

Staffs-Uni-Hi-Res_45-1024x683Interested in Psychology? Come to an Open Day & find out more about Psychology courses at Staffordshire University.

Intrigued by Dr Sarah Rose’s research? Wonder whether screen time is actually having more negative than positive effects on child health and development? Thinking about taking a Psychology degree or a related course?

Come to one of Staffordshire University’s Open Days and find out more! Book your place via: www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

Find out about our Psychology degrees, including our highly rated BSc Psychology & Child Development degree and our Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses.