My research focusses on the psychosocial determinants of mental health and well-being, and cuts across areas of social and personality psychology.

In my PhD research, I looked at how individual differences in subjective well-being are related to personality traits, such as extraversion. After completing my PhD, I then spent several years working in public health research, at the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy and the Scottish Government. During this time I completed several projects on the social determinants of health, including work on the health and well-being of young carers.

My current research attempts to draw on psychological theory to understand how socioeconomic factors, such as income, shape population mental health and well-being. This includes work on how experiences of poverty-based stigma contribute to mental health inequalities, which I am working on alongside the Poverty Alliance and Mental Health Foundation.

1. Poverty-based stigma and mental health. 
2. University students’ socioeconomic status and well-being.
3. Self-Determination Theory and social determinants of basic psychological need satisfaction. 

I am interested in moving into more applied areas of research, and in particular using psychological theory to inform the design and evaluation of public mental health interventions. Similarly, I am also interested in community psychology, and would like to incorporate more participatory research methods into my work.