Psychological Risk Factors and Prevention

Many people are affected by physical or mental ill-health at some point in their lives, such as emotional problems, pain, and lifestyle-related health conditions. These types of ill-health are today leading causes of long-term sick leave, and often have long-term social and academic consequences for young people. 

Our focus in this research area is on identifying risk and protective factors – both psychological and social – for common and widespread health conditions, such as pain, stress-related ill-health, and sleep problems in adolescents and adults. Our research also involves designing and testing prevention programs and early interventions for individuals and groups. 

Current research in this area focuses on the identification of risk factors in the development of emotional problems and social adjustment difficulties in adolescence. We also examine the effects of preventive programs that attend to sleep problems and stress among young people, as well as initiatives aimed at mitigating sick leave resulting from stress and pain in the workplace. 

We utilise cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental designs in our research, and develop instruments to identify people at risk at an early stage. Our overall aim is to contribute to the development of cost-effective and evidence-based preventive measures for use in both the private and public sector to mitigate the trend of increasing mental ill-health in society at large.