Online research methods: An interview with Dr Neil Coulson

Dr Neil Coulson, Associate Professor in Health Psychology at the University of Nottingham, is at the forefront of online research methods. His primary research explore the role of online support communities, online surveys, and the role of social networking sites for people with a range of health conditions. As part of the Working Party on Internet Mediated Research (a committee of the BPS Research Board), Dr Coulson has recently helped to revise the Ethics Guidelines for Conducting Internet Mediated Research

Research: a personal approach

Fundamental Psychology •Individual Cognition, Motivation and Emotion •Cognitive bio-social approaches to human and animal life Applied Psychology •Health Psychology; Psychology in physical medicine •Customer Psychology; Psychology of product developmen

Interprofessional education for first year psychology students: career plans, perceived relevance and attitudes

Undergraduate psychology students have been largely excluded from interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. In contrast to many health professions, undergraduate psychology students do not engage in work placements as part of their degree, and many enter careers outside the health care context. However, the collaborative skills gained through an IPE experience may well be beneficial to students who work in this wider context. This research examines whether undergraduate psychology students’ views of IPE vary according to their planned career directions, and if so, whether the perceived relevance of IPE mediates the relationships. A sample of 188 Australian university undergraduate psychology students completed an online questionnaire following completion of a first-year IPE health sciences program. Path analysis indicated that psychology students’ attitudes towards IPE are associated with both professional identification and practitioner orientation, fully mediated through the perceived relevance of IPE to future career and study plans. Stronger professional identification and practitioner orientation were associated with greater perceived relevance and more positive and less negative attitudes towards IPE. Placing a stronger emphasis on the generalizability of IP skills taught may increase students’ awareness of the relevance outside of the health context, reducing disengagement of students planning alternative careers

Applying discursive approaches to health psychology

Objective: The aim of this paper is to outline the contribution of two strands of discursive research, glossed as ‘macro’ and ‘micro’, to the field of health psychology. A further goal is to highlight some contemporary debates in methodology associated with the use of interview data versus more naturalistic data in qualitative health research. Method: Discursive psychology is a way of analysing talk as a social practice which considers how descriptions are put together and what actions they achieve. Results: A selection of recent examples of discursive research from one applied area of health psychology, studies of diet and obesity, are drawn upon in order to illustrate the specifics of both strands. Whilst both approaches focus on accountability, ‘macro’ discourse work is most useful for identifying the cultural context of talk and can demonstrate how individuals are positioned within such discourses, and examine how such discourses are negotiated and resisted. ‘Micro’ discursive research pays closer attention to the sequential organisation of constructions and focuses on naturalistic settings which allow for the inclusion of an analysis of the health professional. Conclusion: Diets are typically depicted as an individual responsibility in mainstream health psychology but discursive research highlights how discourses are collectively produced and bound up with social practices

Media, racism and public health psychology

A growing literature has established that racism contributes to ill-health of migrants, minority group members and indigenous peoples. Racial discrimination has been shown to act at personal, institutional and societal levels, negatively affecting physical health as evidenced by heart disease and other stress related conditions and generally negating wellbeing, signalled by psychological and psychiatric disorders including depression. In our highly mediatized world, mass communications in diverse forms are decisive for people’s knowledge and understandings of the world and their place in it. From critical studies we know that the media consistently marginalize, denigrate and neglect particular ethnic and cultural groups. Where media do focus on such groups much of the reporting is negative and stereotyping. Achievements are ignored or minimized while representations of those groups as problems for and threats to the dominant are highlighted. In this paper we consider the particular case of media representations of the indigenous Maori of Aotearoa New Zealand. We review extant studies to argue that detailed and systematic study is necessary for the development of critical, local media scholarship. Such scholarship is necessary if the current media impact on Maori health and wellbeing is to be mitigated. While such considerations may not have been traditional concerns of health psychology we, following George Albee (2003), argue for them as affirming the need for critical public health psychology

Evidence-Based Programs & Measures Of Mental Health Literacy among Adolescents: A Narrative Research Review

Evidence-Based Programs & Measures Of Mental Health Literacy among Adolescents: A Narrative Research Review Roxana Naemi, Dept. of Psychology, Sabrina Hawa, & Chloe Walker, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Student, with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams, Dept. of Psychology This current narrative research review aims to provide a review of measures that assess the principles of mental health literacy among adolescents. Mental health literacy can be defined as the degree to which an individual processes and understands mental health information and is able to seek further treatment (Olsson & Kennedy, 2010) and varies based upon age (Farrera et al., 2008), sex differences and relationships with peers (Burns& Rupee 2006), and attitudes towards mental health (Olsson & Kennedy, 2010). Using PsycINFO to find research to date, findings of the review indicated that for evidence-based programs using mental health literacy, adolescents had a better understanding of mental health literacy post-program, whereas when they were first interviewed through surveys and questionnaires. Additionally, the review indicated that more studies assessing psychometrics of existing measures used to assess mental health literacy among adolescents are warranted. Discussion will center on programs and methodological approaches used to examine mental health literacy among adolescents and the need for implementing more programs promoting mental health literacy within schools.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1312/thumbnail.jp