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Contact information


aoife.ohiggins@magd.ox.ac.uk

Research groups

Aoife O'Higgins

BSc, MSc, MA, DPhil

Postdoctoral Research Associate

oRANGE Lab

My research focuses on identifying risk and protective factors for poor psycho-social outcomes for people who experience adversity in childhood, in particular those with care experience and refugees. My aim is to inform the development of social interventions for children who experience adversity and improve their long-term educational and psychological outcomes. My work draws on methods from social epidemiology, developmental psychology, evaluation and social work.

Current research:

  • Investigating life course psychological, social and health outcomes for people exposed to adversity in childhood (collaboration with the history department and funded by the Calleva Foundation, Magdalen College) .
  • Educational trajectories of children in care and children in need in England (with the Rees Centre, University of Oxford and funded by the Nuffield Foundation).
  • Carers’ involvement in education and outcomes of children in care (collaboration with Oxfordshire Virtual School and funded by TORCH).

I am also committed to knowledge exchange to bridge the gap between research, policy and practice in the local community. I am vice-chair of governors in a local primary school, I lead a project on maternal mental health in Oxfordshire and I support the Oxford Refugee Health Initiative.