A novel way of conceptualizing and investigating the form and structure of psychopathology at Ulster University on FindAPhD.com

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Prof Jamie Murphy No more applications being accepted Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Coleraine United Kingdom Clinical Psychology Developmental Psychology Psychology Psychotherapy

About the Project

Mental health problems are routinely understood in terms of discrete disorders that are characterized by specific symptoms. These disorders are used as the basis to understand why mental health problems arise, what the course of illness will be, and how to treat those that are suffering. While this medical model, symptom-led approach has dominated psychiatric research and practice for over a century, a large body of scientific evidence has accumulated over recent decades showing that there is no clear demarcation between ‘normality’ and ‘mental illness’; that supposedly discrete disorders routinely co-occur; that no disorder-specific causal factors exist; and that diagnosis is a poor indicator of the course of illness or likelihood of recovery. Scientific bodies therefore are increasingly calling for new, evidence-based models of the nature of psychological distress and suffering in order to improve the efficacy and efficiency of mental health care.

In this project, the successful PhD candidate will test a novel approach to understanding and describing psychopathology that focuses primarily on the distress and impairment that is associated with psychological experiences that are routinely considered to be indicative of mental health problems (i.e. psychiatric symptoms).

Using publically available data from a nationally representative sample of United States residents (derived from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions II & III) and a range of latent variable modeling techniques, this project will address three major objectives:

(1) to explore the nature of mental health problems with a specific focus on people’s experiences of distress and impairments in day-to-day living;

(2) to understand if the nature of mental health problems vary depending upon the degree of distress and impairment an individual experiences; and

(3) to compare and contrast the nature of mental health indicators with and without the consideration of distress and impairment information.

By orienting research around a construct that reliably and meaningfully differentiates members of the population in terms of ‘need for care’ (i.e., distress/impairment) this research has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the form and the function of psychological distress, to better identify those who are in need of mental health care, and provide vital information on how best to help those who are in need of care.

Essential Shortlisting Criteria

Applicants should have (or expect to hold) an Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) or First Class Honours Degree in Psychology.

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
Research proposal of 1500 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project
A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship

Funding and eligibility

Ulster University’s Annual PhD Scholarship Competition offers the chance for those interested in undertaking PhD research to have their full-time study paid for.

Department for the Economy and Vice-Chancellor's Research scholarships are available to home and overseas applicants, with three years of fees paid, an annual non-taxable maintenance grant of approx. £15,600, a Research Training and Support grant of £900 per year and access to paid teaching opportunities.

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

Recommended reading

Borsboom, D. (2017). A network theory of mental disorders. World Psychiatry, 16, 5–13.

Caspi, A., Houts, R. M., Ambler, A., Danese, A., Elliott, M. L., Hariri, A., ... & Moffitt, T. E. (2020). Longitudinal assessment of mental health disorders and comorbidities across 4 decades among participants in the Dunedin birth cohort study. JAMA network open, 3(4), e203221-e203221.

Caspi, A., Houts, R. M., Belsky, D. W., Goldman-Mellor, S. J., Harrington, H., Israel, S.,... Moffitt, T. E. (2014). The p Factor: One general psychopathology factor in the structure of psychiatric disorders? Clinical Psychological Science, 2, 119–137.

Clark, L. A., Cuthbert, B., Lewis-Fernández, R., Narrow, W. E., & Reed, G. M. (2017). Three approaches to understanding and classifying mental disorder: ICD-11, DSM–5, and the National Institute of Mental Health’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 18, 72–145.

Dalgleish, T., Black, M., Johnston, D., & Bevan, A. (2020). Transdiagnostic approaches to mental health problems: Current status and future directions. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 88(3), 179.

Fleming, S., Shevlin, M., Murphy, J., & Joseph, S. (2014). Psychosis within dimensional and categorical models of mental illness. Psychosis, 6(1), 4-15.

Kotov, R., Krueger, R. F., Watson, D., Achenbach, T. M., Althoff, R. R., Bagby, R. M.,... Zimmerman, M. (2017). The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A dimensional alternative to traditional nosologies. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126, 454–477.

Murphy, J., McBride, O., Fried, E., & Shevlin, M. (2018). Distress, impairment and the extended psychosis phenotype: a network analysis of psychotic experiences in an US general population sample. Schizophrenia bulletin, 44(4), 768-777.

Murphy, J. (2016). The flexible concept of psychological normality. In On Human Nature: Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Politics, and Religion (pp. 451-466). Elsevier.