Emotion dysregulation

Aseel Sahib

Aseel's PhD examines the role that emotion dysregulation plays in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and emotional difficulties (i.e., anxiety and depression).

#WeToo not #MeToo: The social reality of gendered violence

Kate Western

Kate's PhD examines the impacts of gendered and sexual violence on mental health and identity.

Gendered violence has been predominantly viewed through an individualistic lens, where not only are individual women seen as responsible for protecting themselves from experiencing gendered violence, but any subsequent mental health impacts are also seen as being due to individual factors (e.g., prior mental health history, coping styles, etc.). However, research in the social cure space suggests that both physical and mental health are bidirectionally linked to one’s social connections, and in particular, group memberships (Jetten et al., 2012). Throughout my PhD, I will be using the social identity approach (SIA) to examine how social identities shape and are shaped by gendered violence and inform mental health outcomes.

Improving student wellbeing, and in particular the relationship between extracurricular groups, social identification and wellbeing outcomes

Emma Dunstone

Emma's PhD aims to examine ways of improving student wellbeing, and in particular the relationship between extracurricular groups, social identification and wellbeing outcomes. This will expand upon her Honours research and identify practical ways of boosting identification (and therefore wellbeing) in students.