Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Peter Clayson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Robert Dedrick, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Fallon Goodman, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Sarah Victor, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Joseph Vandello, Ph.D.

Keywords

Attitudes, Depression, Identity, Lived Experience, Mental Health, Stigma

Abstract

Self-relevant research (i.e., me-search; SRR) is research that is informed by lived experience or having close connections to a topic. The disclosure of SRR may impact how a researcher is viewed in professional contexts, like an application to graduate school, and thus can impact who is recruited and retained in psychology. Although SRR appears to be common in psychology, little systematic research exists on its prevalence by subfield of psychology or how SRR is perceived. This study examined SRR across psychology disciplines. An online survey was administered to faculty and graduate students (N = 1313) affiliated with accredited doctoral programs in psychology. Participants were asked if they had ever conducted SRR and responded to one of six manipulated vignettes that depicted a hypothetical researcher, their research topic (i.e., depression, cancer, or sexual orientation), and whether they conducted SRR (i.e., SRR vs. non-SRR). Results showed that most participants (57.4%) had conducted SRR, with a higher prevalence among participants in clinical psychology subfields (68.6%) than non-clinical subfields (52.0%). Across all participants, participants reported more stigmatizing attitudes about SRR on the topic of depression than on the topic of cancer or sexual orientation. SRR on cancer or sexual orientation was also associated with more positive attitudes than SRR on depression. Contrary to hypotheses, clinical and non-clinical fields did not show differential attitudes about SRR on depression. SRR is common within psychology, yet psychologists may hold varying attitudes about its pursuit and disclosure depending on the SRR topic. Future field-wide efforts should seek to create an open dialogue about how to navigate professional challenges related to perceptions of SRR, while simultaneously reducing SRR and mental health stigma.

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