Northumbria Psychology Bulletin

Vol 1 Issue 1 – Welcome to the issue

Mark Moss — 2024-12-03

Welcome to this, the inaugural edition of the Northumbria Psychology Bulletin where we showcase some of the outstanding research conducted by our undergraduate and postgraduate students, both campus based and distance learning. Our goal is to provide a platform for innovative research that might help launch the careers of the next generation of professional and academic psychologists. I have always been impressed by the diversity and quality of research that our students carry out in the completion of their programmes of study under the exceptional supervision of our academic team. The continuing approach adopted by the department of psychology to support and facilitate the research ideas generated by the students is something that delivers an excellent opportunity for their development of research skills and steps towards independence. The continued student engagement with the process of writing for publication and the ongoing guidance of their supervisors is particularly impressive given that it extends beyond the completion of their degree programmes and is purely voluntary. I think it demonstrates the commitment of both parties to success beyond the classroom as well as the potential contribution our graduates can make to academic research. This issue features articles reporting applied experimental research in the area of healthcare and a qualitative investigation of the impact of Covid on the experience of higher education. I invite readers to engage with these thought-provoking studies and look forward to the future success of this journal.

‘COVID sucked the soul out of all things decent’:

Chloe McGlynn — 2024-04-24

The COVID-19 restrictions had a significant impact on higher education in the UK, with the majority of teaching moving to online delivery. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 students who were studying at universities across the United Kingdom in order to explore student experiences of digital teaching in the wider context of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the results. Two key themes with associated themes were identified. The first theme explored students’ experiences of the move to e-learning, the support that was offered, and the perceived impact on their academic performance. The second theme explored the wider impact on students, in relation to opportunities for work experience, social relationships, future prospects, and mental health. The results illustrated that the sudden move to online learning left many students feeling disengaged from their learning; worried about their future prospects, socially isolated and experiencing poorer mental health. Implications for the provision of online education are discussed

The role of emotional intelligence and emotion recognition ability in romantic relationship satisfaction of adults varying in autistic-like traits

Maya Daly Williams — 2024-08-01

Research suggests that emotional intelligence is important for relationship satisfaction. Some people face challenges with both romantic relationships and aspects of emotional intelligence, for example, autistic people. There has, however, been very limited research into these factors with non-clinical participants with varying levels of autistic like traits. This research aimed to investigate the extent to which both general emotional intelligence (EI) and the specific component of emotion recognition mediated the relationship between autistic-like traits and satisfaction with romantic relationships. A correlational design, with a general population sample, was used in two studies (study 1, n = 139; study 2, n = 183). The results of our studies found that higher emotional intelligence and emotion recognition were associated with higher relationship satisfaction and that those with higher numbers of autistic like traits had lower emotional intelligence and emotion recognition scores. Emotional intelligence, but not emotion recognition, mediated the relationship between autistic like traits and relationship satisfaction. The research provides novel insights into how emotional intelligence and autistic-like traits influence romantic relationship satisfaction and has implications for potential interventions.

The association between subjective sleep and stress in recreational athletes

Jason Walsh — 2024-08-01

Subjective sleep and stress are strongly associated, at multiple levels, and the current body of evidence highlights a bi-directional association. Previous research has highlighted that issues with sleep can impact on several stress responses. On the other side of this relationship, research has shown that stress-inducing factors can significantly impact sleep. The present study examined this association in a sample of recreational athletes, a population that has received little to no research focus to date Recreational athletes are defined as individuals who exercise >4 hours per week for health, fitness, or unofficial competitions. Recreational athletes (n = 34) completed online measures of subjective sleep, subjective stress, subjective anxiety/depression and training load (PSQI, PSS, HADS and DALDA). Pearson correlations were carried out to examine associations between variables. There was a significant positive correlation between subjective sleep quality and subjective stress. There was a significant positive correlation between subjective stress and training load. There was a significant positive correlation between subjective sleep quality and training load. The positive associations between sleep, stress and training load are consistent with previous research, but the present study adds to the literature by highlighting the associations in recreational athletes. Recreational athletes should proactively manage their sleep and stress, as due to the bi-directional relationship, improving sleep may benefit stress, and improving stress may benefit sleep quality. This is also likely to benefit overall mood and reduce the likelihood of overtraining in recreational athletes.

The association between insecure adult attachment and psychosomatic symptoms as mediated by emotion regulation

Batoul Medlej — 2024-11-07

Adult insecure attachment encompasses both anxious and avoidant attachment. Previous research links anxious attachment to maladaptive emotion up-regulation, and avoidant attachment to maladaptive emotion down-regulation. Research suggests that both insecure attachment and maladaptive emotion regulation contribute to psychosomatic symptoms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the increased susceptibility to psychosomatic symptoms in insecure individuals is mediated by maladaptive emotion regulation. A general population sample (n = 157) completed an online survey comprising measures of attachment, emotion regulation, psychosomatic symptoms and perceived stress. Perceived stress levels were controlled for due to their recognised impact on psychosomatic symptoms. Four simple mediations were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results revealed that emotion down-regulation negatively mediated the relation between attachment avoidance and psychosomatic symptoms while emotion up-regulation did not mediate the relation between attachment anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms. These findings suggest that emotion regulation emerges as a predictor for psychosomatic symptoms in avoidant but not anxious attachment. Future studies should explore the emotional influences of emotion regulation in insecure attachment across diverse contexts.