Research and knowledge transfer activities conducted by academic staff and postgraduate students within RCAP involve the application of psychology to a range of "real-world" contexts such as work, health, social care, the criminal justice system, mobile communications and education. Members also collaborate with national charities, such as Headway, the MS Society, Macmillan Cancer Support, Harpers Trust and the Network for Surviving Stalking. Much of this work has made a demonstrable contribution to national and local policy and practice in a number of areas.

Recent Submissions

  • Work-place flexibility: friend or foe?

    McDowall, Almuth; Kinman, Gail; Schlachter, S. (British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Interview with Professor Evangelia Demerouti

    Kinman, Gail (European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, 2015)
  • Work-related wellbeing in the prison service: a national study

    Kinman, Gail; Clements, Andrew James (Steve Mitchell, 2015)
  • Monitoring the wellbeing of UK academic employees using the HSE management standards framework

    Wray, Siobhan; Kinman, Gail; University of Bedfordshire (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Work-life balance, recovery strategies, and well-being in fire service personnel

    Payne, Nicola; Kinman, Gail; Middlesex University; University of Bedfordshire (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • The cost of kindness? emotional labour, empathy and wellbeing in nursing

    Kinman, Gail; Leggetter, Sandra (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Managing work-life balance - a workshop for practitioners

    Kinman, Gail; McDowall, Almuth; University of Bedfordshire (British Psychological Society, 2014)
    To share best practice and frameworks for interventions. We will present delegates with case studies of WLB interventions. These will be based on our personal experience of practice and research, as well as derived from other interventions that have emerged from the peer reviewed literature and the public domain. Each case study will be reviewed by small groups of delegates in terms of: (a) evidence-base; (b) 'face validity'; (c) fitness for purpose; (d) acceptability by organisations and employees; (e) potential generalisability to other organisational contexts. Practitioners will also be invited to reflect on their own practice situations, giving delegates the opportunity to engage with prominent academics and experienced practitioners in the field. We will also provide delegates with tips for further reading and professional development. The findings will be used to inform the content of a factsheet, which will provide occupational psychologists with a "tool-box" of evidence-based strategies to help their clients manage the work-home interface more effectively. In 2012, the WLB Working Group published three factsheets (targeted at employees, managers and coaches) which covered the risk factors for work-life conflict and the potential impact. These factsheets were very well received and are currently used widely by practitioners, employees and organisations.
  • Rewarding excellence: the Society’s Book Awards 2014

    Kinman, Gail (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Work-life balance research at the DOP Conference 2014

    Kinman, Gail (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Enhancing resilience in early-career social workers: evaluating a multi-modal intervention

    Kinman, Gail; Grant, Louise Jane; University of Bedfordshire (The British Psychological Society, 2015)
    It is widely recognised that social workers need to enhance their emotional resilience to protect their well-being in an increasingly stressful profession, but little is known about how this might be achieved. This study utilised a repeated measures wait-list controlled design to evaluate a multi-modal intervention for newly-qualified social workers employed in children’s services on levels of resilience and well-being and associated personal resources previously found to underpin resilience (i.e. emotional self efficacy, self compassion and satisfaction/fatigue and psychological flexibility). The interventions were found to yield benefits for wellbeing that were generally maintained over time.
  • Developing work-life balance competence: the importance of context

    McDowall, Almuth; Kinman, Gail; Grant, Christine; University of Bedfordshire; City University London; Birkbeck University London; Coventry University (The British Psychological Society, 2015)
    Drawing on research with different professional groups and working contexts (including the police, social work and ‘e-workers’) this ‘taster’ workshop provides an overview of current work-life balance (WLB) practice development as well as theoretical advancements. Delegates will be introduced to the skills, knowledge and abilities that underpin WLB can be identified, emphasising the benefits of a context-specific approach. In small groups, we will undertake a brief exercise using checklists and reflective tools to identify how work-life balance can be self-managed and managed in others.
  • Materialism and more

    Kinman, Gail (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Greece frightening

    Kinman, Gail (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • “Managing” work-life balance: a workshop for practitioners

    Kinman, Gail; McDowall, Almuth; Grant, Christine; Payne, N.; Wray, Siobhan (The British Psychological Society, 2014)
  • Work-related well-being in the Prison Service: a national study

    Kinman, Gail; Clements, Andrew James; Hart, Jacqui Ann; University of Bedfordshire (The British Psychological Society, 2015)
    There is evidence that prison officers in the UK experience challenging working conditions, but little is known about their well-being at a national level. This mixed-methods study considers whether the Prison service is meeting several benchmarks for the work-related well-being of its staff. It further explores personal experiences and outcomes of violence and aggression at work and perceptions of justice and support. Extracts from interviews with prison service staff are presented and discussed. The methodological, ethical and practical implications of the research are considered.
  • Increasing demands, decreasing resources: conflict and enhancement in UK academics

    Kinman, Gail; Wray, Siobhan; Shelvin, Mark; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Bedfordshire; University of Ulster (The British Psychological Society, 2015)
    There is evidence that work-related demands are increasing in the UK higher education sector and resources diminishing. Employees commonly report difficulties managing the work-home interface, which is a considerable source of strain. Using a sample of 12,635 academics, this study utilises structural equation modelling techniques to test key assumptions of the job demands-resources model in predicting perceived stress, work-life conflict and work-life enhancement. The findings suggest that job demands are more heavily implicated in perceptions of perceived stress and work-life conflict, whereas resources are more strongly related to enhancement. The implications of the findings for employees and institutions are discussed.
  • EAOHP Conference review

    Kinman, Gail; McDowall, Almuth (British Psychological Society, 2014)

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