Insecure attachment in infancy is a powerful predictor both of psychopathology in later life and of more general difficulties in social integration. Attachment systems are activated in stressful situations and are assessed by careful observation of infants’ and carers’ reactions to the stressor. Standard procedures for assessing attachment are reliable, but time consuming and expensive. We wish to study attachment behaviours during routine childhood immunisation and their stability over time. This could lead to the development of clinical and epidemiological tools for studying the early development of psychopathology.
The student will use specialist software to code videos of infant immunisation sessions in general practices. A longitudinal study of infants being immunised at 2, 3, 4 and 13 months will be conducted, ending with a standardised clinic-based assessment of attachment. A range of statistical techniques will then be used to examine the associations between the observed infant behaviours and attachment security.
Funding Notes
For International students,the Faculty of Medicine Graduate School may offer an ORS award. The ORS award, which specifically covers the difference between the UK and overseas fee, is highly prestigious and will only be awarded to outstanding graduates. For Home/EU students, part-scholarships are available, which cover the cost of fees (currently £3240).
The MRC also offer a range of scholarships. Each scholarship will cover stipend costs at the research council recommended rates (£12,600 in 2007/08). The scholarships will include all fees plus £300 per annum for conferences attendance and £5,000 per annum for research costs.
http://www.findaphd.com/search/showproject.asp?projectid=15290
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