Empowerment and Social Justice Research Area

Doris Denton-West Eguamo
Contact: [email protected]
Supervisory team: Dr Emma Kaminskiy, Prof Mick Finlay, Dr Steven Stagg
Thesis title: Autism Among Black Ethnicity in the United Kingdom; Investigating the Influence of Caregivers' Perception and Cultural Beliefs on Early Diagnosis.
Research Summary: Research suggests there is a rise in the prevalence of autism from 1.57% to 1.76% from 2009 to 2021 within the UK. Studies have also evidenced variations of autism prevalence among ethnic groups within the UK; however, there is no research aimed at understanding the perception of autism within the black ethnic minority group within the UK. This research will examine the perception, knowledge, and belief system of the black ethnic groups in the UK regarding autism. It will also investigate how cultural beliefs impact caregivers of children with autism from the black ethnic minority groups at the time of seeking a diagnosis and the barriers encountered. A mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used for this research.

Jenny Cattier
Contact: [email protected]
Supervisory team: Dr Tim Jarvis, Dr Craig Owen, Associate Professor Laura Dietz
Thesis title: An Exploration into the Efficacy of Short Speculative Fiction as a Therapeutic Agent for Female Depression..
Research summary: Jenny's research includes an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study exploring the experience of women who have found reading short speculative fiction helpful in managing their depressive symptoms.

Katrine Donois
Contact: [email protected]
Supervisory team: Dr Lewis Goodings, Prof Mick Finlay, Dr Nic Gibson
Thesis title: Science, Society, and the Media: Bridging the Communication Divide.
Research summary: Katrine's research concerns the multiple ways in which 'science' is communicated or understood and examines the processes that impact the effective communication of science.

Karen Mutsatsa
Contact: [email protected]
Supervisory team: Prof Mick Finlay, Dr Emma Kaminskiy, Dr Lewis Goodings
Thesis title: The pursuit of happiness with a physical/sensory impairment: an exploration of the 'Good Life' concept.
Research summary: Investigating the attitudes, resources, and behaviours which facilitate or hinder "living-well" with a physical/sensory Impairment. Karen adopts phenomenological and social constructionist approaches to investigate what It means to be happy and disabled in the UK.

Evelin Kis
Contact: [email protected]
Supervisory team: Prof Viren Swami, Dr Emma Kaminskiy, Dr Barbara Vohmann
Thesis title: Adapting wise belonging interventions for race minority students in STEM to transform their experiences, relationships, and achievements.
Research summary: This project looks at adapting wise belonging interventions developed in the US to improve the attainment and retention levels of race minority students in the UK higher educational context.

Research increasingly suggests that the transition to fatherhood can trigger mental health problems in the perinatal period (i.e., the period spanning pregnancy, childbirth, and the first postnatal year). The financial costs of paternal perinatal mental ill-health on the UK economy are substantial, but so too is the burden on fathers themselves, their partners, and their children. It is therefore important to consider perinatal mental health in terms of the family unit, including fathers.

In the Groups and Social Processes research area, we are leading ambitious projects that consider the lived experiences of fathers in terms of their mental health, in collaboration with partners in mental health services and scholars internationally. Led by Prof Viren Swami and PhD candidate Caroline Estrella, this research seeks to understand the experience of psychological distress in fathers and how best to help fathers experiencing distress to get the help they need.

In order to improve services for people, we need to understand how people use and access support services, and what happens in interactions between workers and those they support.

In the Groups and Social Processes research area, we study how people communicate with each other in care services for people with intellectual disabilities, how psychiatrists discuss medication with people who have mental health issues, how people use mental health apps, and how ward staff make formulations. Led by Dr Emma Kaminskiy, Dr Lewis Goodings and Dr Mick Finlay, we try and understand what happens when people access psychological and social support.