Dr Kirsten Russell
Lecturer
Psychology
Personal statement
I joined the School of Psychological Sciences and Health as a Lecturer in Psychology in 2022, having previously worked as a Researcher for Police Scotland and the Scottish Government. My research interests lie predominantly within the field of the psychology of mental health, developmental psychology and health psychology. My work focuses on understanding both risk and protective factors associated with mental health and wellbeing as well as self-directed and interpersonal violence.
Publications
- Are images of seized knives an effective crime deterrent? A comparative thematic analysis of young people's views within the Scottish context
- Cogan N, Chin-Van Chau Y, Russell K, Linden W, Swinson N, Eckler P, Knifton L, Jordan V, Williams D, Coleman C, Hunter S C
- Journal of Youth Studies Vol 26, pp. 1293-1311 (2023)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2086038
- Defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness : clarifying interrelationships between suicidogenic constructs
- Oakey-Frost D Nicolas, Moscardini Emma H, Russell Kirsten, Rasmussen Susan, Cramer Robert J, Tucker Raymond P
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol 19 (2022)
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710518
- Suicide rates amongst individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Troya MIsabela, Spittal Matthew J, Pendrous Rosina, Grace Crowley, Gorton Hayley C, Russell Kirsten, Byrne Sadhbh, Musgrove Rebecca, Hannam-Swain Stephanie, Kapur Navneet, Knipe Duleeka
- eClinicalMedicine Vol 47 (2022)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101399
- MVP Implementation Interviews : Final Report
- Cogan Nicola, Taylor Rachel, Pagani Stefania, Hunter Simon C, Russell Kirsten, Knifton Lee, Elliott Mark A
- (2022)
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of poor sleep, insomnia symptoms and stress in undergraduate students
- Gardani Maria, Bradford Daniel RR, Russell Kirsten, Allan Stephanie, Beattie Louise, Ellis Jason G, Akram Umair
- Sleep Medicine Reviews Vol 61 (2022)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101565
- Knife seizure imagery project report
- Cogan Nicola, Chau Chin-Van Y, C. Hunter Simon, Russell Kirsten, Linden Will, Williams Damien, Swinson Nicola, Eckler Petya, Knifton Lee, Jordan Vicki
- (2021)
Teaching
I currently teach on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the School of Psychological Sciences and Health
I am Class Lead for the undergraduate Development class and contribute to teaching in both Clinical Psychology and Professional Practice on the MSC in Clinical Health Psychology programme.
Research Interests
My research interests lie predominantly within the field of health psychology, clinical psychology, and developmental psychology and focus on understanding risk and protective factors associated with self-directed and interpersonal violence.
My primary research interest focuses on conducting research that provides insights into risk and protective factors for self-harm during adolescence. In particular, I have focused on the role of sleep disturbance within the pathway to self-harm thoughts and behaviours, and have sought to better understand the psychological processes underpinning this link.
I am also interested in examining interpersonal violence in young people. My work in this area focuses on predictors of involvement in violence and evaluating violence prevention initiatives in Scotland. I have published a report, In partnership with Scottish Government, summarising international research evidence on what works to prevent and reduce youth violence.
Professional Activities
- Implementation and Behavioural Science in Health and Social Care
- Organiser
- 17/5/2023
Projects
- Insecure Employment and Suicide in Scotland
- Rasmussen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Russell, Kirsten (Co-investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Co-investigator) Heap, Daniel (Research Co-investigator)
- The aim of the project is to more fully understand the link between employment and financial instability and experiences of suicidal thinking and behaviour for people living in Scotland. In line with the tender, and as a result of adopting a mixed methods approach to the project we are proposing to focus our research questions on exploring what the links are between employment and
financial instability and, importantly, why these links exist. More specifically we wish to explore the following questions:
· What are the experiences of employment and financial instability in Scotland, and do those experiences link to suicidal thinking and behaviours?
· What are the temporal dynamics of the experiences of suicidal thinking and behaviours for individuals living in Scotland who experience employment and financial instability?
· Can we use the risk and protective variables specified by a key theory of suicidal thinking and behaviour to understand how employment and financial instability is linked to suicidal thinking and behaviours? - 01-Jan-2023