Rosie Davis

Profile

Project Title: Positive Balance: Digital technologies to support mental health and wellbeing during adolescence. 

Summary: Adolescence is often an emotionally turbulent time due to the change and uncertainty of the transition into adulthood. This type of life transition has been linked to increased concerns about the future, lower self-efficacy and self-esteem, and a shift to negative thought patterns, all of which can be detrimental to psychological wellbeing. Previous studies have demonstrated that positive psychology interventions can counteract these negative effects and instead, encourage a focus on strengths, positive emotions, hope, and an increase in optimism.  
 
Unfortunately, these types of interventions are not widely available to the adolescent population. To bridge this gap, the Positive Balance project seeks to develop and validate an opensource web app that is optimised for adolescent engagement and capable of delivering a digital version of an adapted in-person positive psychology intervention. The study will focus on a cohort that is particularly vulnerable to stressful life transitions, high expectations and a demanding lifestyle: vocational dancers from the Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet School. Usability, acceptability, adherence, and overall efficacy will be measured and improved using mental health and wellbeing scales to score participant outcomes and collecting user feedback.

Supervisor:

• Dr Elisabetta Versace

Research