Dr Rachel Povey (Associate Professor in Health Psychology, Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) was featured in The Sentinel newspaper commenting on recent statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme showing concerning rates of childhood obesity in the Staffordshire county. The Sentinel story highlights high rates of children who are classed as obese or overweight in parts of Stoke-on-Trent and the wider county.
Dr Povey, who conducts research into the psychology of children’s eating behaviours and ways to promote healthy eating (click here for a blog about this work), provides expert commentary in the story about why rates of childhood obesity appear to be increasing. The full story can be read on The Sentinel website below:
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For further information about Health Psychology courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:
By Dr Rachel Povey, Associate Professor in Health Psychology.
On 25th April 2018, the first of three research seminars on psychological perspectives on healthy eating in children was held at Staffordshire University. The seminars are funded by the British Psychological Society, and was organized by myself in collaboration with colleagues at Aston University (Professor Jackie Blissett and Dr Claire Farrow). Psychologists from all over the UK and France attended and presented findings from their research.
The day opened with a stimulating talk by Dr Angel Chater (University of Bedfordshire) providing an insight into experiences of barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption among foodbank clients. This was followed in the morning by a wide range of thought-provoking talks which examined healthy eating in childhood from pre-school up to adolescence. Presentations focused on different factors found to influence healthy eating in young children including genetic factors, exposure to different foods and parent-child interactions. Studies involving older children focused on peer influences and included interventions which used social media to change eating behaviour.
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The afternoon began with a fascinating presentation by Lisa Cowap (Staffordshire University) on a school-based intervention which used simple plans to improve snacking behaviour in primary school children. Following presentations described different ways of changing children’s eating behaviour, from using carefully-designed Apps, to creative techniques to get children more engaged with the food they eat. Finally, the day closed with an inspiring talk by Dr Sophie Nicklaus (French National Institute for Agricultural Research), on how to help children make healthy food choices by emphasizing pleasure.
Overall it was a fascinating and motivating day which provided an opportunity for psychologists researching children’s eating behaviour to network and share ideas. The next research seminar will take place in Autumn.
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:
By Dr Sarah Dean, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Staffordshire University.
Lucy Field
Lucy Field completed the MSc in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University in 2017 and has recently had her dissertation research, which was supervised by Dr Sarah Dean, published as an open access article in the Global Journal of Health Science.
It has been recognised that stress can have a very negative impact on people’s health and wellbeing and it is therefore important that interventions are designed to help people deal with stressors effectively. One way of doing this is to use interventions that help people to become more aware of their bodies, their response to stress and how to regulate this. Lucy’s work explored the effectiveness of a biofeedback intervention, using the HeartMath training programme, to reduce a person’s physiological response to stressors. It was found that the intervention had positive effects for participants. Participants reported feeling less stressed and more relaxed after taking part in the intervention and Lucy’s physiological data supported this. Future research is needed to explore the use of HeartMath further.
This is what Lucy had to say about her time on the MSc:
“I really enjoyed my MSc in Health Psychology at Staffordshire University. Health promotion and stress have become areas of specialty for me. I completed my research on stress using a biofeedback technique with support from my tutor and other researchers in the field. This has been published! I would not have believed this to be something I could have accomplished at the beginning of the course. I am now looking forward to starting the Prof Doc in Health Psychology!”
Thinking about postgraduate study in Health Psychology?
If you are interested in studying our BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology why not sign up to our next Open Afternoon on Tuesday 3rd July?
For more information about the Open Afternoon, please email the MSc Health Psychology Course Directors Dr Sarah Dean s.dean@staffs.ac.uk or Dr Gemma Hurst G.L.Hurst@staffs.ac.uk.
Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology
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:
Researchers at The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research, based at Staffordshire University, are conducting a study to learn more about the experiences of new Mums who live in Stoke-on-Trent. Dr Sarah Dean and Professional Doctorate student Sarah Thurgood are leading this research, which is funded by CHAD (The Centre for Health and Development), in order to learn more about factors that influence infant feeding.
The research team hope to use the information gathered to learn more about the types of support Mums have found useful and areas they felt less supported in. The idea is that this knowledge could then be used to inform future research or to help in the design of future interventions to help new mums with feeding their babies. The survey is open to mothers living in Stoke-on-Trent who have had their first baby between 6 weeks and 6 months ago.
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:
When you are asked about body image, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
When asked about their body image, most people will tend to focus on the negatives and things that they don’t like about themselves, such as “my bum is too big” or “I don’t like my nose”. We are all able to think about the negative aspects of our body very quickly, however, how we view our own bodies has seemed to change in the past few decades and people are now beginning to think more positively about themselves and their bodies.
Likewise, body image research has tended to focus on the negatives (i.e. what we dislike about our bodies or find embarrassing), but there has started to be a shift towards understanding positive body image. Initially research saw positive body image as simply being at the other end of the scale from negative body image. So, if you didn’t think positively about your body, then it meant you had a negative body image (Avalos, Tylka, & Wood-Barcalow, 2005). This could be an oversimplification of the complex nature of body image which could be a combination of both positive and negative facets. This old way of thinking about body image potentially delayed advancing the understanding of positive body image, especially as there has been a lack of measurement tools available to examine positive body image (such as validated psychometric self-report questionnaires).
In 2005, the creation of the Body Appreciation Scale (Tiggemann, 2015) provided this opportunity for better understanding more positive aspects of body image. This scale allows positive body image to be measured and examined in a new way, facilitating more nuanced body image research. Positive body image was no longer seen as having no negative body image thoughts, rather, positive body image became a widely acknowledged concept that included factors such as body appreciation, body acceptance, and inner positivity (Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015). With researchers using a mixture of methods, the definition of positive body image developed, further theories were created and measurement tools adjusted, such as the further refinement of the Body Appreciation Scale.
Alongside my supervisor (Dr Alison Owen, Lecturer in Psychology), we are aiming to build upon this area of research by examining how a number of individual differences factors, ranging from age to physical disability to personality, are predictive of positive body image. If you are interested in participating in this study, please click here to find out more information about the study.
Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology
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:
As part of an exciting and innovative collaboration between eight UK universities and the Student Minds charity, we are conducting a national survey of the relationship between students’ experiences of high and variable moods with their academic experiences and general wellbeing. Experiences of variable mental health by university students has received significant attention over the past few years, with increases in the rates of reported mental health issues amongst students aged between 18 and 24 years and an increased number of students disclosing mental health difficulties to their universities (IPPR, 2017).
Whilst there has been a lot of discussion of students’ experiences of depression, anxiety, suicidality and the engagement in self-harm related behaviours, there has been little focus on the experience of highand variable moods amongst students and how this might impact on their social and academic functioning. High moods, which are associated with increased energy and activity levels, disturbed sleeping patterns, but also the engagement in more impulsive and risky behaviours, could have as much of an impact on student wellbeing during university studies as can depression, anxiety and negative moods. Given that studying for a degree is often one of the most stressful experience encountered in students’ lives, understanding how students respond to this stress and manage their moods is important for developing preventative interventions and improving students’ overall wellbeing and university experience.
Our unique collaboration aims to better understand students’ experiences of high and variable moods, identify the predictors of high mood amongst students and the potential avenues for intervention to improve students’ wellbeing and performance at university. As part of a collaborative network of researchers based at eight UK universities, which Staffordshire University is pleased to be part of (alongside Northumbria, King’s College London, Exeter, Manchester, Newcastle, Reading, and Glasgow universities) and Student Minds, we have launched a national survey of students’ experiences of high mood. We plan to follow-up this first survey with additional surveys to allow us to understand how students’ experiences of changeable and high moods develop over time.
The survey is open to all UK university students aged between 18 and 25 years who are currently enrolled at any UK university. We are seeking a broad range of participants, including those who perhaps haven’t experienced any high or variable moods, to take part in the survey and help to inform future interventions in this area.
Note that Staffordshire, Northumbria and Exeter Psychology students can take part via their SONA systems (the study is listed in SONA and can be completed in return for credits). All UK students who complete the survey can also opt-in to a prize draw for vouchers.
A separate study I am conducting is investigating how pro-social behaviours such as volunteering impact on mental health and coping strategies, e.g. suicidal thinking and self-harm. This is another collaborative study between myself, based at Staffordshire, and researchers at external universities.
Anyone can participate in this separate study (there is no age limit) which takes the form of an online survey of personality, prosocial behaviours and mental health. Students studying at Chester, Nottingham Trent and Staffordshire universities can sign up to the study in SONA to receive credits (please log into SONA to find the study).
If you are not a Chester/Staffs/Trent student, you can find out more about the prosocial behaviour study by clicking here. Chester/Staffs/Trent students please see SONA for more details.
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).
Over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a half (45%) in the UK, and there are around 15,400 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that’s 42 every day (Cancer Research UK). A massive 86% of melanoma skin cancer in the UK is preventable (Cancer Research UK), for example by protecting your skin from the sun by using sun tan lotion or using clothes to cover up, so it is really important to find ways to encourage people to protect their skin from the sun.
Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University (Sofia Perrson, Yael Benn and Sarah Grogan) and Leeds Beckett University (Katie Dhingra), along with researchers here at The Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research (Alison Owen and David Clark-Carter), have carried out a review of literature investigating how effective appearance-focussed interventions are at encouraging people to have safer and healthier UV exposure and sun protection behaviours. The study was modeled on a previous review carried out here at Staffordshire University in 2013 by Dr Owen, Prof Grogan, Prof Clark-Carter and Dr Buckley, which focused on how well appearance-based interventions work to reduce UV exposure, for example by discouraging people from using sunbeds in the future, or encouraging them to wear more sun protection (read this paper here).
In the present study, in press in the British Journal of Health Psychology, 33 studies were reviewed, each of which having used an appearance-focused intervention aiming to encourage healthier UV exposure and sun protection behaviours. For example, some of the reviewed interventions worked by showing individuals the impact that exposing their skin to the sun without using protection could have, in terms of wrinkling or age spots. We found very encouraging results, in that appearance-based interventions appear to have positive effects on UV exposure and sun protection immediately after the intervention, as well as up to 12 months afterwards. This supported the findings of the original review, which also found that appearance-based interventions have a positive effect on UV exposure and sun protection intentions and behaviour.
Dr Owen is continuing to carry out research looking at the effectiveness of appearance-focussed interventions on changing peoples’ health behaviours, and is currently carrying out research investigating whether showing people the negative impact that binge drinking can have on their skin, can impact on their alcohol consumption in the future.
The new systematic review can be read via the British Journal of Health Psychology‘s website:
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:
On this week’s Adam Ruins Everything podcast, Dr Daniel Jolley, Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University, was an invited guest to discuss the topic of conspiracy theories.
Daniel is a social psychologist in the Department of Psychology whose primary research interest involves examining the psychology of conspiracy theories. In his research, he is interested in why people believe in conspiracy theories and what potential consequences exposure to conspiracy theories may have on individuals and society.
On the podcast, the host Adam Conover interviewed Daniel where they discussed why so many millions of people subscribe to conspiracy theories and what tools can be developed to alleviate their potential harm, such as with the use of counter-arguments against the conspiracy account.
This interview was a follow up to Daniel’s appearance on the hit-US TV Show also called Adam Ruins Everything on the American channel Tru TV. Daniel was a guest on the show, which aired on US TV in October 2017, where the show showcased the topic of conspiracy theories with the help of scientific research.
You can listen to the podcast here and also catch up with the TV series on the show’s website.
I am delighted to have recently joined the Psychology team as a Lecturer here at Staffordshire University. My first few weeks have been great, everyone has been very friendly and supportive and I’ve been made to feel really welcome. Here’s a bit of background about me:
I completed my undergraduate psychology degree in Psychology and Criminology at Keele University in 2007. After a few years away from academia, I returned to Keele to complete my MSc in Psychology of Health and Wellbeing – it was during this time that I realised my passion for health psychology and qualitative research! After my MSc, I stayed at Keele to start my PhD which was focused on exploring the social representations of sunbed use and how these representations influence how people talk about and behave with regards to sunbed tanning and the risks involved.
In the final year of my PhD, I took on the role of part-time Teaching Fellow at Keele. I continued in this role for another year following the completion of my PhD, as well as working as a Research Assistant on a project exploring the knowledge and attitudes of mothers in Staffordshire towards cervical screening and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination. I also, during this time, completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at Keele and I am now a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2016, I took on a temporary position as Lecturer at Keele University, teaching on the undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology programmes. I joined the team here at Staffordshire University at the beginning of January 2018.
My research interests are in exploring health risk behaviours that are body image related, such as sunbed use and cosmetic surgery. I am especially interested in how people talk about such behaviours in light of the risks. I am a qualitative researcher and a member of the editorial board for the Qualitative Methods in Psychology (QMIP) section of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
I’m very excited to have joined such a vibrant, enthusiastic team here at Staffordshire University and am looking forward to continuing with my passion for both teaching and research.
Staffordshire University – The Home of Health Psychology
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:
Together, working with one of our MSc in Health Psychology students and a fellow member of staff (Dr Amy Burton), we have just published a paper using a photo-elicitation approach to understand the lived experience of quality of life amongst a group of individuals experiencing paraplegia and chronic pain.
Our paper, currently in press in the Journal of Health Psychology, details a novel study where we were interested in better understanding the factors which give and take away from the quality of life experienced by people living with paraplegia (who experience paralysis to their lower limbs due to a spinal cord injury) and chronic ongoing pain. Many people who are paraplegic also experience chronic pain but studies to date have tended to focus on self-report measures of pain experiences. Using self-report measures of pain experiences might not allow researchers to really understand the nature and quality of pain, as the experience of pain can be difficult to objectively measure, and may not help understand how individuals ‘make sense’ of these experiences.
It is well known that managing chronic pain when living with paraplegia, and being reliant on a wheelchair for mobility, can be a challenging experience for many people. We were particularly interested in understanding how people in this situation manage their pain and maintain a good quality of life, whilst maintaining a focus on their experiences as individuals. A lot of qualitative research into people’s experiences of physical health conditions uses researcher-led interview schedules focused on topics that the researchers are interested in – this can be problematic as it may not allow the participants to direct the interview discussions towards topics and issues they feel are important when making sense of their own experiences.
To help us ensure our study was focused on our participants’ experiences we used a form of interview technique referred to as photoelicitation, sometimes known as photovoice. Rather than just asking our sample of participants a series of questions about their experiences, we asked them to spend a week taking photos of things they felt took away from their quality of life or improved their quality of life. Six photographs from each participant were then chosen for discussion in the interviews, during which we only asked the participants some general questions about their photograph (such as: ‘what does this photograph represent in terms of your quality of life?‘). Our discussions based on these photographs produced some incredibly rich and complex data, showing some of the complexities of living with paraplegia, chronic pain and also using a wheelchair for mobility (which we wouldn’t have found if we just asked a series of set questions).
For example, one of our participants discussed a photo she took of a toy dinosaur, similar the one shown on the right. The participant explained that this toy dinosaur represented her experiences with healthcare staff, particularly doctors, who she saw as being old-fashioned, not understanding of her pain experiences and frustrating to deal with. These communication problems contributed to this participant’s worsening pain as she was often prescribed ineffective medications attributed to her pain experiences not being understood by healthcare staff. Discussions like this demonstrated the complexity of our participants’ experiences living with pain and paraplegia whilst attempting to maintain a good quality of life – often related to a sense of frustration that factors like medical professionals should help improve, not worsen, their quality of life.
Interestingly, using a wheelchair was viewed as a factor that both improved and worsened our participants’ quality of life. Some participants were grateful for the wheelchair giving them independence, to be mobile and not be over-reliant on others to get around. However, this sometimes came at the cost of the wheelchair preventing our participants from being fully mobile (e.g. by not being able to access parts of their own home or having difficulty using public transport) and even caused further pain and discomfort due to sitting in the chair.
Using photo-elicitation, and allowing our participants to be much more involved in directing the interview discussions, produced some rich data participant-focused data which demonstrated the complexity of living with both paraplegia and chronic pain. Had we just used a standard set of written questions we would not have uncovered such complexity in our participants’ experiences. The use of photographs to guide the interviews could be incorporated into healthcare communication practices as it may help healthcare professionals to better understand their patients’ experiences, particularly of chronic pain which can be difficult to communicate verbally.
It was a pleasure to work with one of our MSc in Health Psychology students (Melanie Hughes), who led the data collection, and one of our Health Psychologist colleagues (Dr Amy Burton) on this analysis. This project represents one of a number of published studies and papers produced with students as part of our BPS Accredited Stage 1 MSc in Health Psychology course here at Staffordshire University.
We have published two papers based on this research, including a commentary paper reflecting on the use of photo-elicitation as an interview tool and our recent paper detailing our analysis of the interviews (click here). Links to the papers can be found below:
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:
Health Psychology, Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research) was featured in The Sentinel newspaper commenting on recent statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme showing concerning rates of childhood obesity in the Staffordshire county. The Sentinel story highlights high rates of children who are classed as obese or overweight in parts of Stoke-on-Trent and the wider county.
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.
