The Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, seeks a full-time Ph.D. student as part of an ERC-funded project. (Outside-In: How Bullying in Adolescence Gets Into The Mind and Under the Skin; ERC-2019-STG- 853517).
The overarching goal of this research is to look into the emotional and biological processes that connect bullying victimization to adolescent health outcomes. Bullying is a significant source of stress for many teens, and it is recognized as a public health issue around the world.
Bullying puts adolescents at risk for mental and physical health issues that may last into adulthood. Unfortunately, society’s knowledge of how bullying can have such negative consequences is still limited, which limits their ability to educate prevention and intervention efforts.
This ERC project will investigate how to address this fundamental distance.
- Using the experience sampling method, how exposure to bullying can alter psychological (e.g., emotional) and biological (e.g., HPA-axis) processes among adolescents in real-time in their daily lives.
- The degree to which bullying affects gene expression processes, resulting in a gene expression profile marked by increased pro-inflammatory activity, raises the risk of developing health problems.
Duration: 4 years
Vacancies
- The Ph.D. student will be part of a team (which includes two other Ph.D. students, a postdoc, and the PI) that will set up a large-scale, school-based longitudinal project, which will include the collection of extensive longitudinal data (experience sampling data) and biological markers.
- The Ph.D. student will be in charge of the experience sampling study’s creation and will be responsible for various aspects of data collection as well as statistical analysis of the data.
Salary
- Remuneration will be determined according to salary scale AAP3
- Teleworking is possible and the modalities of teleworking will be agreed upon with the supervisor, in line with Ghent university guidelines.
- The Ph.D. student will have the opportunity to attend international conferences and to spend a research stay abroad in other research labs.
Job Requirements
Ghent University seeks for:
- An appropriate degree (preferably a research master) in Psychology or a related discipline
- Experience with analysis (e.g., involvement in data collection)
- Demonstration of exceptional analysis and communication abilities
- Highly motivated, curious, and enthusiastic about science, with a deep interest in the research subject,
- Excellent command of both English and Dutch (oral and written)
- who are well organized, enjoy working in a group, and have excellent cooperative skills.
- Experience gathering intensive longitudinal data (e.g., regular diary data, experience sampling data) and knowledge of analyzing this form of data, as well as other complex nested data (e.g., multilevel data),
Application Process
Applications must be submitted in English and should include in a single PDF file:
- A detailed CV, including an overview of study results (grades)
- A motivation letter (maximum two pages, double-spaced, font 12)
- Contact information of (at least) two (academic) referees.
Application Deadline: June 15, 2021.
For more information, visit the official site.
