Lifespan Research Group
The
Lifespan Research Group, led by Professor
Antonia Bifulco, investigates social and psychological factors
influencing mental health. It takes a lifespan approach, examining
factors from childhood through to older age, in community-based
samples ranging in age from 16 to 75. The research group emerged
in 1999 from the Socio-medical Research Centre, formerly directed
by Professor George Brown. It has been located at 11, Bedford Square
since 1984.
The
team is involved in both applied and academic research, and the
interface between the two. It seeks to investigate the aetiology
of psychological disorders as well as influencing health and social
care practice in terms of increasing its evidence-based orientation.
One means of bridging the two is in terms of adapting research assessment
methods for practice contexts.
Applied
research
The
Lifespan Research Group is currently involved in the WestFocus
consortium of seven universities to the West of London to create
a knowledge exchange with the local communities. This is a HEIF2
and HEIF3 funded enterprise and the research group are involved
in the Health and Social Inclusion subnetworks.
Lifespan
is currently active in undertaking research with practitioners in
both health and social care. These activities are funded from 'third
stream' sources such as voluntary agencies, local authorities and
primary care. They include:
-
Evaluations
of services for children and adapting research interview methods
for social work assessments (Surrey Children's Services, Portsmouth
Fostering Team, St. Christopher's Fellowship).
-
Increasing
research capacity in primary care (Wandsworth PCT Research Centre
-BRG)
-
Supervising
action research for social care practitioners (Greenwich and
Wandsworth Social Services).
- Adapting
research interview methods for social work assessments (Parents
for Children).
Academic
research
The team is
currently analysing and publishing a large Medical Research Council
funded data set examining social factors in the aetiology of depression,
anxiety and substance abuse. This comprises family studies examining
both intergenerational (mothers and daughters/sons) as well as intra-generational
(sibling) pairs in transmission of risk in families. It uses both
prospective and retrospective designs to examine life histories
in these families.
Active
collaborations with clinical psychology and psychiatry research
teams in Europe (Paris, Porto, Florence, Belgium, Italy) and Asia
(Japan and Korea) are seeking to examine vulnerability for depression
cross-culturally and adapting and translating measures in these
contexts.
Lifespan
Collection
Data
collected from 10 years of MRC programme funding with over 500 families
in London, is currently in the process of being preserved and archived.
Funding is being sought to digitalise the few thousand audio-tapes
in the Collection and to the many rated schedules collected during
the programme. The Collection includes the audio-taped life history
interviews for three generations of London families as well as a
computerised data set of thousands of quantitative variables measured
around psychosocial risks and lifetime clinical disorder.
Lifespan Research Group (Department of Health And Social Care) has gained funding from JISC (Capital Programme for Repositories Start-up) to support the development, preservation and future accessibility of its valuable collection of life histories. This will provide the foundations for exploring the requirements for an information environment for research data collections in the frame of the College-wide Digital Object Repository (DOR). JISC supports UK further & higher education and research by providing leadership in the use of Information and Communications Technology in support of learning, teaching, research and administration. JISC receives funding from all the UK further and higher education funding councils.
Interview
Measurement
Interview
measures designed by the team to assess psychosocial vulnerability
for depression are used extensively in research and increasingly
by practitioners. Such measures combine both qualitative and quantitative
elements to provide narrative accounts of experience, amenable to
statistical analysis.
Training
is available
from the team in:
Lifespan
publications 2001-9
Lifespan
funded projects
Lifespan
final report
Contact
us
Department
of Health and Social Care
Royal Holloway, University of London
11, Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3RF
Tel:
+44 (0) 020 7307 8619
Email: Natasa.Blagojevic@rhul.ac.uk
www.attachmentstyleinterview.com
www.cecainterview.com
www.cats-rp.org.uk
www.lifespanresearch.org.uk
Research
Staff
Associated
Researchers
Administrative & IT
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