PhD Study : Promoting adolescent mental health awareness and self-care in sport: applying virtual reality technologies

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Summary

There is mounting concern about the high prevalence of mental illness among adolescents. Early identification of mental health needs and the introduction of services have been shown to be effective in supporting young people from developing further illness. However, limited engagement with services as a result of social stigma can be a barrier to adolescent help seeking. Therefore, creative ways are required to engage young people in recognising and subsequently managing their mental health. The capacity of community-based sport to engage adolescents in mental health awareness, self-management, and help-seeking provides an option, but attempts have been the subject of increased research scrutiny over recent years (Shannon et al, 2019; Shannon et al 2020). Some researchers and advocates show sport participation can foster meaningful social connections, be a source of health-enhancing physical activity, and allow for the delivery of awareness messages conducive to mental well-being.

However, there is increasing recognition that sustainable, evidence-based behaviour change interventions are lacking within the context of sport (Breslin and Leavey 2019, Breslin et al., 2022; Breslin et al., 2019). Indeed, the scalability of evidence-based interventions and associated costs are a concern. To mitigate cost increases new e-health technologies, such as virtual reality (VR; Kelson et al, 2021) are being tested. If successful, VR can be a way of distributing mental health support. Besides this scalability benefit, VR offers advantages such as the implementation of immersive, ecologically interactive, and visually rich virtual environments.

The proposed PhD programme will contribute to the design and examination of the efficacy of specific forms of VR delivery to offer robust and measurable improvements in adolescent mental health awareness in Northern Ireland. The study will be transdisciplinary and will examine concepts of mental health literacy including mental illness identification, stress management, help-seeking and support and overcoming isolation and stigma with the aim of building resilience

Methods to be used: Initially the successful candidate will systematically review the evidence for the use of sport to address mental health awareness and self-management in adolescents. This review will include the use of virtual reality and technology based online interventions. The intention thereafter is to undertake a feasibility intervention and follow-up study that evaluates the use of virtual reality technology to promote mental health and self-management in adolescents. The studies will adopt a mixed methods approach and rely on adolescent input into the content through co-production.

Aims of the research:

1.To consider the efficacy of virtual reality to address mental health awareness and self-management of adolescents.

2. To design and test the effectiveness of a virtual reality sport-based intervention that addresses the specific needs of adolescents at risk of mental ill health.

3. To consider the scalability of the sport-based VR intervention programme.

Please note:  Applications from those holding or expecting to hold a 2:1 Honours Degree in Psychology are strongly encouraged to apply.  Applications for more than one PhD studentship are welcome, however if you apply for more than one PhD project within Psychology, your first application on the system will be deemed your first-choice preference and further applications will be ordered based on the sequential time of submission. If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be interviewed only on your first-choice application and ranked accordingly. Those ranked highest will be offered a PhD studentship. In the situation where you are ranked highly and your first-choice project is already allocated to someone who was ranked higher than you, you may be offered your 2nd or 3rd choice project depending on the availability of this project.

AccessNI clearance required

Please note, the successful candidate will be required to obtain AccessNI clearance prior to registration due to the nature of the project.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

  • Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
  • A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
  • A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship
  • Evidence of academic writing skills (a short sample of academic written work of the applicant's choosing (Max 3 pages, A4, font 11)) – please upload in the section entitled Research Proposal

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

  • Research project completion within taught Masters degree or MRES

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

  • Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
  • Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
  • Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

  • Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
  • Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
  • Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
  • Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Recommended reading

Breslin, G., & Leavey, G. (2019). Mental health and well-being interventions in sport. London: Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9781315147703.

Breslin, G., Smith, A., Donohue, B., Donnelly, P., Shannon, S., Haughey, T. J., ... & Leavey, G. (2019). International consensus statement on the psychosocial and policy-related approaches to mental health awareness programmes in sport. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 5(1), e000585.

Kelson, J. N., Ridout, B., Steinbeck, K., & Campbell, A. J. (2021). The use of virtual reality for managing psychological distress in adolescents: systematic review. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(10), 633-641.

Shannon, S., Hanna, D., Haughey, T., Leavey, G., McGeown, C., & Breslin, G. (2019). Effects of a mental health intervention in athletes: Applying self-determination theory. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1875.

Shannon, S., Hanna, D., Leavey, G., Haughey, T., Neill, D., & Breslin, G. (2020). The association between mindfulness and mental health outcomes in athletes: testing the mediating role of autonomy satisfaction as a core psychological need. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-16.

The Doctoral College at Ulster University

Key dates

Submission deadline
Monday 6 February 2023
04:00PM

Interview Date
14 to 16 March 2023

Preferred student start date
18 September 2023

Applying

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