DOES CONTROL MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-COMPLEXITY AND POSTTRAUMATIC PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop following exposure to actual or threatened traumatic experiences. Research has shown that experiencing a trauma may alter, disrupt or distort ones identity. This thesis focused on the relationship between self-complexity (SC; Linville, 1985, 1987) and posttraumatic psychological adjustment. SC is defined as the number of non-overlapping self-aspects (i.e., traits, roles and behaviours) that one uses to describe themselves. Greater SC (i.e., where the self-aspects are many and differentiated) has been associated with better coping in response to adversity. The SC theory had only been tested once in relation to trauma (Morgan & Janoff-Bulman, 1994). The evidence-base has revealed mixed support for the SC theory; potentially due to methodological differences across studies. Furthermore, research found that greater SC may only be beneficial when people perceive the different parts of themselves to be under their control (McConnell et al., 2005). Using a single group, cross-sectional, quantitative design, the research question ‘does control mediate the relationship between self-complexity and posttraumatic psychological adjustment?’ was investigated. Efforts were made to overcome the methodological limitations identified by previous research. One-hundred and ninety-four adult trauma survivors from the general public were recruited. The study was administered online and involved the completion of a SC task, three measures of posttraumatic psychological adjustment, a depression measure and brief demographic questions. A significant positive correlation was found between negative SC and poorer posttraumatic psychological adjustment. A significant negative relationship was Doctoral thesis: Does control mediate the relationship between Kerrie Channer self-complexity and posttraumatic psychological adjustment? ii found between positive SC and depression scores. The relationship between PTSD symptomatology and SC (of both valences) was significantly mediated by control. In the discussion the theoretical implications of the research findings for both the SC theory and the PTSD models are explored. Also the clinical implications, including the potential utility of the SC measure in assessment and treatment of PTSD are considered

Exploring the leadership competencies of trainee clinical psychologists and qualified clinical psychologists

This is a pre-publication version of the following article: Kerrie Channer, Margo Ononaiye, Deirdre Williams & Barbara Mason, ‘Exploring the leadership competencies of trainee clinical psychologists and qualified clinical psychologists’, Clinical Psychology Forum, No. 31, January 2018, published by the British Psychological Society. Content in the UH Research Archive is made available for personal research, educational, and non-commercial purposes only. Unless otherwise stated, all content is protected by copyright, and in the absence of an open license, permissions for further re-use should be sought from the publisher, the author, or other copyright holder.This article explored the self-reported leadership competences of Trainee and Qualified Clinical Psychologists. The results showed that leadership competences are part of a qualified clinical psychologist’s role and that trainees don’t report a development of these skills across training.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Suicide and poverty in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Suicide is the 15th leading cause of death worldwide, with over 75% of suicides occurring in low- and middle-income countries where most of the world’s poor live. Nonetheless, evidence on the relationship between suicide and poverty in low- and middle-income countries is limited. We conducted a systematic review to understand the relationship between suicidal ideations and behaviours (SIB) and economic poverty in low- and middle-income countries. We identified 37 studies meeting inclusion criteria. In 18 studies reporting the relationship between completed suicide and poverty, 31 relationships were explored. The majority reported a positive association. Of the 20 studies reporting on the relationship between non-fatal SIB and poverty, 36 relationships were explored. Again, the majority of studies reported a positive relationship. However, when considering each poverty dimension separately, we found substantial variations. Findings suggest a relatively consistent trend at the individual level indicating that poverty, particularly in the form of worse economic status, diminished wealth and unemployment is associated with SIB. At the country level, there are insufficient data to draw clear conclusions. Available evidence suggests potential benefits in addressing economic poverty within suicide prevention strategies, with attention to both chronic poverty and acute economic events