Thesis Title:
Investigating Home and Neighbourhood Social Resources and Safety and Their Influence on Symptomatology and Functioning in Individuals with Severe Mental Illness
Thesis Abstract:
Risk for severe mental illness (SMI) is explained through biopsychosocial theories, but social determinants and the therapeutic potential of social interventions remain under-studied. The home and neighbourhood are important social contexts for supporting recovery from SMI. Social support plays a key role in positive SMI recovery outcomes, but individuals with SMI may be less able to mobilise resources from their connections with neighbours. The primary aim of this PhD project is to investigate how home and neighbourhood safety and social resources each and together prospectively influence SMI functioning, using mixed methods.
It constitutes three studies exploring different dimensions of the home and neighbourhood environment: objective and subjective aspects of safety, the availability of interpersonal support and social ties in the homes and neighbourhoods of people with SMI.
- Study 1 will use qualitative methods to explore home and neighbourhood safety and social resources interpreted as influencing mental health by individuals with SMI.
- Study 2 will use the safety and social resource variables identified by participants in Study 1 to select measures to assess whether these quantitatively predict SMI outcomes.
- Study 3 will examine the associations between neighbourhood sense of safety, social contacts, and their interactions on SMI symptomatology in daily life, in real time.
The findings from this project will inform the identification of targets for social interventions, as a way of improving outcomes.
Primary Supervisor:
Prof Jennifer Lau