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Colleges

Imogen Hensler

BSc (Hons), MRes

DPhil Candidate

Improving our understanding and measurement of safety-seeking behaviours in adolescents with panic disorder

Background

I am a biosocial, mixed methods researcher with experience in the social and medical sciences. I particularly focus on physical and mental health outcomes due to the intersections of society, as well as mechanisms for mental health disorders in childhood and adolescence.  I am currently completing my DPhil on the topic of panic disorder and understanding safety seeking behaviours as a maintenance mechanism for adolescents. Alongside my DPhil, I work at University College London (UCL) in the department of Anthropology on the Cooperative Childrearing in Middle Childhood and Biosocial Pathways to Adolescent Wellbeing study which is part of the Adolescent Sociality Across Cultures research group. I am also an honorary researcher at Queen Mary University, in the Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health. 


DPhil Study

My project investigates key maintenance mechanisms for panic disorder at adolescence, with a particular focus on the use of safety-seeking and avoidance behaviours. I aim to improve our understanding and measurement of these behaviours, through mixed methodology and psychometric analysis. I am supervised by Dr Polly Waite and Professor Paul Salkovskis, and I am funded through the Shaun Scholarship.


Research Interests

I am passionate about mixed method projects predominantly in the social and medical sciences that explore mental health outcomes, inequality and inequity which aim to improve outcomes for populations through policy implementation. I am specifically interested in mental health, sociological mechanisms in health, adolescent and childhood development, gender, self-concept, sexual and romantic well-being, participatory methods, psychometrics, research dissemination and policy. 


Education

  • MRes Anthropology (Distinction) - University College London (UCL) 
  • BSc Anthropology (First Class Honours) - University College London (UCL)

Supervision Team