2020/21 Project Abstracts:
Devlin: The Relationship Between Physical Illness and Mental Illness in Children’s Television: A Thematic Analysis
Children’s television has in the past negatively portrayed physical illness and mental health. Negative portrayal of mental illhealth has been found to lead to negative attitudes and stereotypes of mental illness (Silberman 1993; Thornton & Wahl 1996; Wahl & Lefkowits 1989). Research suggests that physical illness is under-represented in children’s media, however the literature is very limited. Lemish and Johnson (2019) suggest that physical illness was only depicted in 1% of children’s television programmes which supports that physical illness is largely under-represented in children’s television. This study aimed to explore whether physical illness, and its relationship to mental health, is positively or negatively portrayed in children’s television programmes. Six hours of a children’s television programme where the key character is undergoing cancer treatment were examined using Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The analysis identified four main themes from the data set; Ability to Cope, Impact of Actual Illness, and Impact on Others, Bullying, Parental Stress and Bullying. Subthemes were identified within these themes and analysed.
Donaghy: Internet Attitudes, Internet Usage and Gender: A Contemporary Look at Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The study aimed to re-examine the Erdoğan (2008) research into Internet Attitudes, Loneliness, and Gender, in light of the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020. Erdoğan (2008) found that males and females appear to have different relationships with their attitudes towards the internet and towards usage of the internet, and that these relationships are correlated with their loneliness levels, with men reporting higher frequency of internet use and higher levels of loneliness than females. The current study aimed to explore these relationships through the lens of the year 2020-21 spent in quarantine, where social interaction, in the main, moved online, to examine if the trends found by Erdoğan are still relevant in 2021. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 43 students at Ulster University who were recruited through the Ulster University Psychology Facebook page. The study resulted in mixed findings, many of which were contradictory to previous literature surrounding the topic, finding no correlation between attitudes towards the internet and levels of internet use, and no statistically significant gender differences with regard to loneliness, internet use, or attitudes towards the internet. However, a negative correlation between usage of the internet and loneliness was found, and a positive, statistically significant correlation between attitudes towards the internet and social usage of the internet was found.
Pearson: Understanding and exploring the experience of young carers in lockdown
Current literature shows that there is very limited research regarding young carers and their experiences of providing care to a loved one, especially to their grandparents, as much research shows that it is usually adult children who provide care to their loved ones. Therefore this paper sought to explore and interpret the experiences of young carers, exploring four different aspects that are believed to reflect the experiences of young carers. Four major themes emerged which were the business of caring, family caring as a team, being a young carer, and the impact of COVID. Using semi-structured interviews and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis the experiences of young carers were explored, as results show how caring has influenced the young people’s experiences, both positively and negatively. This has resulted in developing a greater understanding of the challenges and rewards which many young people face while providing care for their loved ones.
Quinn: The Role of Emotion Regulation on Learner Readiness and Student Satisfaction when Learning Online
Emotion regulation (ER) has long been associated with satisfaction and learner readiness for students within traditional classroom settings. Namely, the role of two specific emotion regulation techniques; cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, have been extensively documented within existing literature. However, there is limited research exploring the role of emotion regulation strategies when students are learning online. Considering the Covid-19 pandemic, many higher education institutions have embraced e-learning as the principal method of teaching delivery. Here we expand on existing evidence to explore the relationship between ER strategies on student satisfaction and learner readiness in an online learning environment. 37 undergraduate university students were recruited and completed three questionnaires as part of survey design method: The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Online Learner Readiness Scale (OLRS) and the Online Course Satisfaction Scale (OCSS). The correlation coefficient and regression analysis revealed that emotion regulation was significantly associated with, and predictive of self-directed learning. Separately, cognitive reappraisal was significantly related to and predictive of total online learner readiness and two facets of this construct, learner readiness and self-directed learning. Lastly, a significant relationship was established between expressive suppression and online communication self-efficacy. These results expand on current understanding of the influence of ER strategies on learner readiness and student satisfaction, accounting for the possible mediating influence of learning online. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research are discussed.
Skillen: Personality and Mental Health: Can Personality Type Predict Prejudicial Views About Mental Illness?
Introduction: Mental Illness is an issue that effects many globally and it is important to understand what causes prejudice against it and what factors can make these causes more likely. This study examines the possible use of the big five personality traits as a predictor of prejudiced mental health views.
Methods: Participants were recruited via Ulster University School of Psychology’s weekly recruitment roundup, with the sample consisting of 69 females and 14 males (n=83), aged 18-61 years. Participants were asked to take a quantitative survey, in which personality was measured with the Mini-IPIP and prejudicial views were measured through with the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness (PPMI) Scale.
Results: Regression analysis suggested that high scores in Agreeableness was a protecting factor against prejudiced mental health views, with a negative relationship found between this trait and all PPMI categories bar Unpredictability. Furthermore, Extraversion was found to be positively correlated Authoritarianism and Neuroticism to be negatively correlated with Malevolence. No correlations were found between the PPMI scale and Openness to Experience or Conscientiousness.
Discussion: The current study found that Agreeableness, Neuroticism and Extraversion could possibly be used as a predictor of prejudiced views towards mental illness, with Agreeableness being found to be an overall protector against prejudiced mental health views. Future research should assess if there are any more correlations to be found in relation to scales used, age and gender and how this information could then be applied to real world situations.
2021/22 Projects
Maguire: The effect of alcohol consumption on loneliness in undergraduate students’ mental health during the pandemic
This study aimed to investigate the effect alcohol consumption had on loneliness and mental health in undergraduate students during the COVID-19 lockdown. A survey was created in which they would answer questions from the UCLA loneliness scale, GHQ-12 and record their number of units of alcohol. A total of 30 students took part in the study from the university of Coleraine. The results of the study found that there was a significant relationship between student’s levels of loneliness and their mental health during lockdown, a moderate relationship between alcohol consumption and mental health and no significance between alcohol consumption and loneliness
2022/23 Projects
Turk: Overcoming obstacles: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis exploring first year undergraduates’ lived experiences of transitioning to university
In recent decades, the UK higher education system has undergone unprecedented changes, giving rise to many stressors that surpass the traditional pressures associated with the transition to university. Research on stress and coping during this pivotal life adjustment has found that first-year undergraduates are particularly susceptible to experiencing the multi-factorial impacts of academic, financial and personal struggles. Despite this, the current body of qualitative literature exploring how students navigate and manage this transition predominately focuses on the experiences of medical students and requires further expansion across disciplines. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of first-year psychology students’ transition and adjustment to university. In particular, the study was concerned with how students understood their stress and coping experiences. Testimonies from four first-year undergraduates studying psychology at the University of Ulster were purposively gathered using qualitative semi-structured interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, 1996) was utilised to analyse participants’ transcriptions, with the study’s findings being supplemented by quality checks to ensure their credibility. Three superordinate themes were identified: ‘The Impact of Change on Undergraduates’ Adjustment Experience’, ‘Students’ Experiences of Negotiating University Associated Stressors’ ‘Students’ and ‘The Value of Social Support and Self-efficacy for Healthy Coping’. The analysis revealed that students utilised a variety of coping strategies in an attempt to cope with ‘change’ induced stress. By focusing on positive psychological attributes such as self-discipline, self-efficacy and hope within a transactional understanding of stress, students appeared to gain a perceived sense of control, ultimately facilitating favourable stress management and adjustment experiences.
Walsh: Impostor syndrome and the association between parenting styles and social anxiety in students
Clance and Imes (1978) established the term “impostor syndrome” to define individuals who feel unworthy and fraudulent in the workplace. This research aimed to examine the relationship between imposter syndrome and social anxiety, as well as the role of psychology students’ recollections of how they were raised. The study included 85 undergraduate students from Ulster University, 60 females and 20 males (mean: 25.82, S.D: 6.94)., who completed three surveys: Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; Clance, 1985), The Liebowitz Social Phobia Scale (LSAS; Liebowitz, 1987), and the Parent Bonding Instrument (Parker et al., 1979). 63.5 percent of participants believed they were impostors, and impostor syndrome was positively correlated with moderate to severe social anxiety. No significant gender differences were detected in relation to impostor syndrome. Participants who scored highly on the impostor scale did not, however, score highly on the overprotection scale, as predicted. Social anxiety and impostor syndrome were more prevalent among students who perceived their parents’ overprotection to be less. In the impostor syndrome, fathers’ care and overprotection did not rate highly, while mothers were regarded as the primary cause of impostor feelings and social anxiety. The etiological significance and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Dr Orla Parslow-Breen 