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Spotlight on Research

Read more about some of our selected research projects here.

Public Understandings of Trauma

Investigators: Dr Cliódhna O’Connor, Prof Helene Joffe, Julienne Debono, Cliodhna Cadogan

Trauma is an increasingly prominent construct in contemporary culture, invoked across diverse contexts of policy, practice, and public discourse. This project explores how the concept of trauma is understood across media and lay thinking, and the personal and social repercussions these meanings may have. 

Key References:

Cadogan, C., Fleischer, K., Joffe, H., & O'Connor, C. (forthcoming). What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘trauma’? A qualitative study of social representations of trauma in Ireland.

O'Connor, C., Brown, G., Debono, J., Suty, L., & Joffe, H. (2025). How trauma is represented on social media: Analysis of #trauma content on TikTok. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 17(Suppl 1), S132–S138. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001792 

O'Connor, C., Armour, C., & Joffe, H. (2023). Lay concepts of trauma in the United Kingdom: Content and predictors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/(opens in a new window)10.1037/tra0001620

Social Attributions for Mental Illness

Investigators: Dr Leigh Huggard, Dr Cliódhna O’Connor

Funder: Irish Research Council

While considerable social psychological literature investigates the implications of attributing mental illness to biological causes, much less research explores how social factors are invoked in explaining mental illness. This project explores the range of social factors that feature in lay explanations for diverse mental illness, and their consequences for stigma and attitudes to help-seeking.

Key References: 

Huggard, L., & O’Connor, C. (2025). Public endorsement of social explanations for mental illness: an investigation of demographic predictors and links to stigma. Current Psychology, 44(6), 4180-4194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07487-7

Huggard, L., & O’Connor, C. (2023). How does the public understand the causes of mental disorders? An analysis of Irish news media before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One, 18(4), e0284095. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284095 

Experiences of Receiving an Autism Diagnosis in Adulthood

Investigators: Dr Cliódhna O’Connor, Prof Suzanne Guerin, Juwayriyah Nayyar, Maria Downey

Funder: UCD ADVANCE

Increasing numbers of people are receiving diagnoses of autism as adults, yet very little research has explored how this affects people's lives. This research explores lived experiences of adult autism assessment and the knock-on effects for self-concept, identity and stigma.

Key References: 

Downey, M., Nayyar, J., Guerin, S., & O'Connor, C. (2025). When expectation meets experience: A qualitative analysis of serial interviews with adults before and after autism assessment. Autism. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251384436 

Nayyar, J., Stapleton, A., Guerin, S., & O'Connor, C. (2025). Exploring lived experiences of receiving an autism diagnosis in adulthood: A systematic review. Autism in Adulthood, 7(1), 1-12. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0152 

O’Connor, C., & Downey, M. (2024). Stereotyping adult autism in popular media: A content analysis of generic statements about autistic adults in British newspapers, 2014–2023. Autism in Adulthood. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0164 

Prevalence and Experience of Diagnostic Shifts in Youth Mental Healthcare (PAEDS) 


Investigators: Dr Cliódhna O’Connor, Prof Fiona McNicholas

Funder: European Commission

Being diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental or mental health disorder can have profound consequences for how young people see themselves and relate to others. For various reasons, some young people may have their original diagnosis changed as they move through mental health services. The PAEDS study set out to explore how frequently these diagnostic shifts happen and their social, emotional and practical repercussions for young people and their families. Results informed the development of free resources to help clinicians, young people and parents communicate and adapt to diagnostic shifts.

Key References:

O’Connor, C., & McNicholas, F. (2020). Lived experiences of diagnostic shifts in child and adolescent mental health contexts: a qualitative interview study with young people and parents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48, 979-993.(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00657-0

O’Connor, C., Downs, J., Shetty, H., & McNicholas, F. (2020). Diagnostic trajectories in child and adolescent mental health services: exploring the prevalence and patterns of diagnostic adjustments in an electronic mental health case register. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 1111-1123.(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-019-01428-z

O’Connor, C., Kadianaki, I., Maunder, K., & McNicholas, F. (2018). How does psychiatric diagnosis affect young people’s self-concept and social identity? A systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature. Social Science & Medicine, 212, 94-119.(opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.011