The Internet and digital technology have transformed how adolescents and young people (hereafter – ‘youth’) learn, socialise and communicate with others. This rise in the use of digital technology has coincided with increases in the levels of mental health problems in youth. However, the extent to which these parallel trends are linked. It is also not clear what individual, and contextual factors may increase vulnerability to the negative effects of digital technology. While digital technology offers new opportunities, including access to mental health support and interventions, it may also exacerbate the existing psychological difficulties, create new risks for mental health and negatively impact psychological wellbeing. Some individuals, for example, neurodivergent youth or those will lower levels of digital skills or limited access to the latest technology, may also be more vulnerable to the potential risks and less likely to benefit from the opportunities afforded by the digital world.
This project will explore both risks and opportunities of digital technology for young people’s mental health and wellbeing in the context of their individual characteristics, digital skills (including whether/how they manage/moderate own digital activity) as well as offline risks and opportunities. Knowledge generated in the project could be further used to support developing guidelines/educational materials to help young people maximise the opportunities afforded by access to digital technology.
The student would be based in the Cognition and Neuro Development in Youth (CANDY) group in the Department of Psychology, SBBS, Queen Mary University of London. We are a vibrant and friendly group of academics, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students researching various aspects of typical and atypical development, including cognition, learning, emotion and mental health. We have regular lab meetings, seminars and lots of opportunities for development (e.g., conference attendance, training, mentoring, etc.).
Find out more about the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences on our website.
We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Psychology, and/or Mental Health.
Experience of working with children and/or adolescents and their parents or schools would be highly advantageous but are not required.
You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 1st March 2025. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.
Please find further details on our English Language requirements page.
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 29th January 2025 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Dr Katarzyna Kostyrka-Allchorne at k.kostyrka-allchorne@qmul.ac.uk Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-pgadmissions@qmul.ac.uk
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.
Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.
For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.
Apply Online