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
- Natural disasters and suicidal behaviour : an updated systematic review
- Zortea Tiago C, Kõlves Kairi, Russell Kirsten, Mathieu Sharna, Platt Stephen
- Journal of Affective Disorders Vol 375, pp. 256-292 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.114
- A prospective examination of sleep chronotype and future suicide intent among adults in the United Kingdom : A test of the integrated motivational volitional model of suicide
- Rasmussen Susan, Chandler Joseph F, Russell Kirsten, Cramer Robert J
- Sleep Medicine Vol 124, pp. 84-90 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2024.09.004
- Examining mental health correlates of hate-motivated behaviour in Scotland : an investigation of victims, perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators
- Russell Kirsten, Hunter Simon C, Post Abigail, Rasmussen Susan, Cramer Robert J
- International Journal of Social Psychiatry Vol 70, pp. 1341-1345 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640241262732
- "Paid yesterday, broke today" : the impact of employment and financial instability on suicidal thinking and behaviour in Scotland
- Rasmussen Susan, Cogan Nicola, Russell Kirsten, Heap Daniel
- (2024)
- An examination of hate-motivated behavior among adults in Scotland and associations with risk factors for self-directed violence
- Russell Kirsten, Hunter Simon C, Rasmussen Susan, Quirke Aideen, Cramer Robert J
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, pp. 1-25 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241279393
- Adverse and benevolent childhood experiences among adults in the United Kingdom : a latent class analysis
- Cain Shannon M, Rooney Emily A, Cacace Samantha, Post Abigail, Russell Kirsten, Rasmussen Susan, Baker Justin C, Cramer Robert J
- BMC Public Health Vol 24 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19448-z
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