Back to search results

PhD Studentship: Investigating the Role of Trauma in Eating Behaviours and Bariatric Surgery Outcomes

King's College London - Department of Psychology

Qualification Type: PhD
Location: London
Funding for: UK Students
Funding amount: Fully funded 3-year PhD studentship, full time, funded by Department of Psychology, IoPPN
Hours: Full Time
Placed On: 28th March 2023
Closes: 23rd April 2023
Reference: EM-IoPPN-HP-23
 

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated individual to undertake a fully funded 3-year PhD programme investigating the role of trauma in eating behaviours and bariatric surgery outcomes. The successful candidate will be hosted within the world-renowned IoPPN at KCL and linked to an NHS bariatric psychology service(s) to conduct clinical aspects of the research. 

This PhD would be suited to someone with an interest in obesity research and the intersections between physical and mental health, and/or in health psychology or clinical psychology.

Background: 

Bariatric surgery (also known as weight loss surgery) is currently the most successful treatment of obesity for individuals with a body mass index over 40 (or 35 with comorbidities). Despite significant medical advances in bariatric surgery, the psychological literature remains inconclusive and sparse.

Individuals who present for bariatric surgery often have complex psychological histories, including but not limited to exposure to trauma. Trauma history has been associated with increased rates of psychopathology in those who have had bariatric surgery, such as PTSD-symptoms and suicidality. Although many patients benefit from surgery, some display poorer behavioural outcomes post-surgery, such as recurrence of binge eating and substance misuse. These patients may also show suboptimal weight loss or weight regain.

Successful bariatric surgery requires individuals to make substantial changes to their long-term eating behaviours and to follow strict dietary regimes. Those with a trauma history may particularly struggle with these behavioural changes due to trauma-related nervous system dysregulation and, consequently, emotion dysregulation. Given that food consumption is a known mechanism through which some people regulate their emotions (e.g., ‘emotional eating’), it is possible that a history of trauma could potentially mediate or moderate this relationship. To date, little is known about the relationship between trauma, eating behaviours, and bariatric surgery outcomes. 

The PhD:

This exciting PhD aims to build a psychological research stream to investigate the role of trauma in bariatric surgery outcomes (e.g., weight loss or regain, PTSD-symptoms); with a particular focus on potential mechanisms between trauma, emotion dysregulation, and eating behaviours.

The PhD projects will employ a mixed-methods approach combining different methodologies, also requiring the student to set up studies and collect primary data within an NHS clinical service (including applying for NHS ethics). We anticipate that the PhD will include a systematic review; quantitative data collection and advanced statistical analyses; and in-depth qualitative interviews. We will develop and refine the final research questions and studies with the successful candidate.

Depending on the candidate’s CV and background, there may also be scope for them to complete their professional BPS Stage 2 training in Health Psychology alongside this PhD (though note, the Stage 2 qualification is not funded through this scholarship and will incur fees at the candidate’s own expense).

This PhD will be co-supervised by Dr Emily McBride (Project Lead) and Dr Whitney Scott, in the Health Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London (KCL).

More info: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/study/research-funding/em-ioppn-hp-23

We value your feedback on the quality of our adverts. If you have a comment to make about the overall quality of this advert, or its categorisation then please send us your feedback
Advert information

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):

PhD tools
 

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Ok Ok

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Account Verification Missing

In order to create multiple job alerts, you must first verify your email address to complete your account creation

Request verification email Request verification email

jobs.ac.uk Account Required

In order to create multiple alerts, you must create a jobs.ac.uk jobseeker account

Create Account Create Account

Alert Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your account is currently blocked. Please login to unblock your account.

Email Address Blocked

We received a delivery failure message when attempting to send you an email and therefore your email address has been blocked. You will not receive job alerts until your email address is unblocked. To do so, please choose from one of the two options below.

Max Alerts Reached

A maximum of 5 Job Alerts can be created against your account. Please remove an existing alert in order to create this new Job Alert

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your alert was not created at this time. Please try again.

Ok Ok

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

 
 
 
More PhDs from King's College London

Show all PhDs for this organisation …

More PhDs like this
Join in and follow us

Browser Upgrade Recommended

jobs.ac.uk has been optimised for the latest browsers.

For the best user experience, we recommend viewing jobs.ac.uk on one of the following:

Google Chrome Firefox Microsoft Edge