Andrew Haddon Kemp

Swansea University | SWAN · Department of Psychology

The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues such as inequality and anthropogenic climate change. Accordingly, there have been increasing calls for a broader conceptualisation of wellbeing. Here we impose an interpretative framework on previously published li...

Society faces several major interrelated challenges which have an increasingly profound impact on global health including inequalities, inequities, chronic disease and the climate catastrophe. We argue here that a focus on the determinants of wellbeing across multiple domains offers under-realised potential for promoting the 'whole health' of indiv...

Background: The wellbeing of university students is deteriorating, highlighting a critical role for institutions to better support student wellbeing. Objective: The goal of this work is to determine whether a final-year undergraduate wellbeing science module, inspired by recent theoretical developments, improved wellbeing during the COVID-19 pande...

Awareness of climate change can prompt overwhelming emotions that threaten wellbeing such as anger, despair, and anxiety. Neoliberal views of human beings and their mental health strip the individual from their social and material context, driving personal dissatisfaction, social isolation, and ecological destruction. In this piece, we contend that...

A report summarising presentations and discussion themes from an Agenda Setting Event held at Swansea University in July 2023. The event was titled "Crafting and Communicating Positive Visions of Sustainable Futures" and funded by the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI). Report produced by Amy Isham: a.m.isham@swansea.ac.uk

Wellbeing and illbeing are influenced by a variety of biopsychosocial factors, yet prior research has neglected a focus on pathways and potential for non-linearity. Here we aimed to: (1) identify predictors and pathways to wellbeing and illbeing; (2) clarify the specific functional forms of their association; and (3) integrate these findings to dev...

Amidst global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and the unfolding climate crisis, there's a pressing need for strategies that improve wellbeing. This study investigates the Wim Hof Method (WHM) as a potential tool for enhancing wellbeing and its influence on related aspects including nature connectedness and health attitudes, including vaccine...

“Climate, Psychology and Change” offers a profound exploration of the psychological ramifications of the climate and ecological emergency (CEE), proposing a paradigm shift in psychotherapy to better support individuals and communities grappling with environmental distress. The book critiques the prevailing hyper-individualized and neoliberal societ...

Background Medical students face demanding academic requirements, fierce competition, self-doubt and financial concerns contributing to high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, sleep problems and burnout, highlighting a need for effective interventions. We explored a promising intervention known as Enhanced Stress-Resilience Training (ESRT), a mo...

Objectives To determine the feasibility and acceptability of ‘ACTing Minds’, a novel single-player adventure video game based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Design A single-arm, mixed-methods repeated measures feasibility study. Setting Intervention and questionnaires were completed at home by participants. Semistructured interviews...

Background Acquired brain injury (ABI) and other chronic conditions are placing unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems. In the UK, 1.3 million people live with the effects of brain injury, costing the UK economy approximately £15 billion per year. As a result, there is an urgent need to adapt existing healthcare delivery to meet increasing cu...

Over the last decades, theoretical perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences have proliferated rather than converged due to differing assumptions about what human affective phenomena are and how they work. These metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions, shaped by academic context and values, have dictated affective const...

Objectives: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of ‘ACTing Minds’, a novel single-player adventure videogame based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).Design: A single arm, mixed-methods repeated measures feasibility study.Setting: Intervention and questionnaires were completed at home by participants. Semi-structured interviews w...

Abstract Background Adolescent mental health has become a public health concern as 10–20% of adolescents have experiences with mental health problems. Improving mental health education is critical to reducing stigma and improving access to appropriate care when needed. Here we examine the impact of a mental health literacy programme (Guide Cymru) i...

Wellbeing is a topic of great research interest, but also one of considerable debate. In this chapter we provide an overview of recent developments in wellbeing science. We summarise the literature around the term wellbeing, and introduce a theoretical framework – the GENIAL model – that we have developed over the last few years, bringing together...

Local communities offer many opportunities for building wellbeing. Here we report on the impact of Local Area Coordination (LAC) – a positive, person-centred, and community-based approach – on wellbeing using a rigorous mixed-methods design including data from psychophysiological synchrony, a quantitative survey, and qualitative ripple effects mapp...

This chapter reviews some of the key ideas emerging from the heterogeneous discipline of wellbeing science and presented in this book by individual contributors, encompassing perspectives from psychological scientists, public health professionals, and economic and political theorists. Contributions document a wide range of issues including the expa...

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the complex construct of wellbeing, some of the major societal challenges impacting on it and potential solutions. Wellbeing is a controversial topic and its definition is typically dependent on disciplinary perspectives. Here we take a broader view, encompassing individual, collective and planetary wel...

This chapter describes some of the challenges facing the healthcare sector which have led us to reflect on how we might redesign and transform healthcare services. We have developed a theoretical framework of wellbeing on which we have developed previously unimagined interventions for delivery in a community brain injury service in South Wales in t...

Background Adolescent mental health has become a public health concern as 10–20% of adolescents have experiences with mental health problems. Improving mental health education is critical to reducing stigma and improving access to appropriate care when needed. Here we examine the impact of a mental health literacy programme (Guide Cymru) in young a...

Dominant psychological models of wellbeing neglect the role that nature connection and other key factors, such as positive health behaviours and behaviour change, play in determining wellbeing. The present mixed-methods evaluation explores the impact of "Surf-Ability", an adapted surf therapy intervention delivered in collaboration with a UK neuror...

This is a preprint of the following chapter: Kemp, A.H. & Edwards, D.J., ‘Discussion: Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science’, to be published in Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Flourishing and Wellbeing, edited by A.H. Kemp & D.J. Edwards, (forthcoming), Palgrave Macmill...

This is a preprint of the following chapter: Kemp, A.H. & Edwards, D.J., ‘Chapter 1: An introduction to the complex construct of wellbeing, societal challenges and potential solutions’, to be published in Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Flourishing and Wellbeing, edited by A...

This is a preprint of the following chapter: Gibbs, K., Fisher, Z. & Kemp, A.H., ‘Toward a Culture of Care for Societal Wellbeing: A Perspective from the Healthcare Sector’, to be published in Broadening the Scope of Wellbeing Science: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Flourishing and Wellbeing, edited by A.H. Kemp & D...

The construct of wellbeing has been difficult to define and has avoided straightforward solutions (Bache et al., 2016). This also makes the topic a fascinating one to reflect on and study. Here we introduce the complex construct of wellbeing, then discuss how the vagus nerve might support the experience of it, before reflecting on some complexities...

We present here a unifying framework for affective phenomena: the Human Affectome. By synthesizing a large body of literature, we have converged on definitions that disambiguate the commonly used terms—affect, feeling, emotion, and mood. Based on this definitional foundation, and under the premise that affective states reflect allostatic concerns,...

COVID-19 presented a major societal challenge including threat to life, bereavement, self-isolation, loss of income and significant psychological distress. Yet, it is possible that such suffering may also lead to post-traumatic growth (PTG) and subsequent wellbeing. The current study aimed to investigate the contributors to PTG and whether PTG medi...

Nature has long demonstrated the capacity to facilitate wellbeing. Interventions involving the natural environment such as surf therapy, are increasingly being used to facilitate aspects of wellbeing in clinical populations. However, explorations of how nature-based interventions such as surf therapy may be used to promote wellbeing in the context...

Abstract Introduction: Psychological science is undergoing a period of change and transformation. Statement of the Problem: The crisis in confidence over psychological science has led to an emphasis on larger and larger sample sizes, sustaining an unfortunate neglect of single-subject research designs in undergraduate education. Literature Review...

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a global threat to physical and mental health worldwide. Research has highlighted adverse impacts of COVID-19 on wellbeing but has yet to offer insights as to how wellbeing may be protected. Inspired by developments in wellbeing science and guided by our own theoretical framework (the GENIAL model), we examined t...

Lay abstract: Many autistic people report difficulties making decisions during everyday tasks, such as shopping. To examine the effect of sounds on decision-making, we developed a supermarket task where people watched a film shown from the shopper's perspective and were asked to make decisions between different products. The task was divided into...

Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) suffer chronic impairment across cognitive, physical and psycho-social domains, and the experience of anxiety, isolation and apathy has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative evaluation was conducted of 14 individuals with ABI who had participated in series of COVID adapted group-based in...

Accumulating research has identified the interactive effects of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene Val158Met polymorphism and environmental factors on aggression. However, available evidence was mainly based upon correlational design, which yields mixed findings concerning who (Val vs. Met carriers) are more affected by environmental conditio...

Introduction In recent years, serious video games have been used to promote emotional regulation in individuals with mental health issues. Although these therapeutic strategies are innovative, they are limited with respect to scope of treatment, often focusing on specific cognitive skills, to help remediate a specific mental health disorder. Objec...

Here we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on wellbeing among UK-based respondents (N = 133). We explore the extent to which variables across wellbeing domains (physical activity, gratitude, tragic optimism, social support, and nature connection) contribute to wellbeing according to our previously proposed GENIAL model. Wellbeing...

Purpose Assistive technology can provide a key tool to enabling independence, greater inclusion and participation in society for individuals with chronic conditions. This potential is currently not always realized due to barriers to accessing and using assistive technology. This review aims to identify the common barriers to acquiring and using ass...

Background – Bipolar Disorder (BD) has been associated with autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation, with a consequent increase in mortality. Recent work highlights the non-linear analysis of ANS function. Our objective was to compare ANS modulation using recurrence plots (RP) and symbolic analysis (SA) in manic and euthymic phases of BD to co...

Introduction: In recent years, serious video games have been utilised to promote emotional regulation in individuals with mental health issues. Though these therapeutic strategies are innovative, they are limited in the scope of treatment, often focusing on specific cognitive skills, to help remediate a specific mental health disorder. Objective: H...

Background: Adolescence is a crucial period for developing and maintaining good habits for mental health and well-being. This is important for future mental health, as most mental health problems manifest during adolescence. Mental health literacy is the foundation for mental health prevention, stigma reduction, and increased help-seeking efficacy...

Research indicates that Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is associated with significant and chronic impairment across multiple areas of functioning including physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral domains. Whilst impairments associated with ABI can be ameliorated, cure is seldom possible. The emergence of positive psychology reflects a paradigm s...

We review neuroimaging research investigating self-referential processing (SRP), that is, how we respond to stimuli that reference ourselves, prefaced by a lexical-thematic analysis of words indicative of “self-feelings”. We consider SRP as occurring verbally (V-SRP) and non-verbally (NV-SRP), both in the controlled, “top-down” form of introspectiv...

Research indicates that Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is associated with significant and chronic impairment across multiple areas of functioning including physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural domains. Whilst impairments associated with ABI can be ameliorated, cure is seldom possible. The emergence of positive psychology reflects a paradigm...

Sadness is characterized by raised inner eyebrows, lowered corners of the mouth, reduced walking speed and slumped posture. Ancient subcortical circuitry provides a neuroanatomical foundation, extending from dorsal periaqueductal grey to subgenual anterior cingulate, the latter of which is now a treatment target in disorders of sadness. Sadness is...

Wellbeing is now a topic of substantial research interest, yet definitions emphasize health, happiness and the absence of illness. This implies that people with neurological conditions have limited opportunities for experiencing wellbeing. We argue that this is not the case. Here we summarize the neurobiology of emotional processing and wellbeing,...

Aims There is mixed evidence for an association between depression and/or anxiety and carotid intima-media thickness, and limited information on the related role of dyslipidaemia. Here we report associations between depression and/or anxiety and intima-media thickness in the Whitehall II cohort, considering the moderating effects of sex and dyslipi...

1 The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores 2 wider systemic issues including increasing burden of chronic disease, widening inequality, concerns over environ-3 mental degradation and anthropogenic climate change. While these criticisms overlook recent developments, there 4 rem...

Maintaining the continued flow of benefits from science, as well as societal support for science, requires sustained engagement between the research community and the general public. On the basis of data from an international survey of 1092 participants (634 established researchers and 458 students) in 55 countries and 315 research institutions, we...

Introduction: Recent studies have revealed a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among university students, highlighting an urgent need for preventative measures at low cost to better support often overwhelmed support services. Objective: Here we propose a protocol for assessing the feasibility of a randomised controlled t...

Recent research reveals that some variability in personality differences can be explained by contextual factors such as location. Although little research has systematically evaluated how such variables predict individual differences in Emerging Adulthood, Fosse and Toyokawa (2016) revealed that characteristics of one’s university such as selectivi...

We tested psychometric properties of the Markers of Adulthood (MoA) importance scale and a revised Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-8) in a large, diverse multisite and multinational sample the Emerging Adulthood Measured at Multiple Institutions 2 project. We used multilevel confirmatory factor analyses and multilevel alphas...

See Video Abstract at https://vimeo.com/312587180 Read the article: dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24319 Salamone et al., "Altered neural signatures of interoception in multiple sclerosis" Human Brain Mapping (2019). doi:10.1002/hbm.24319 Video produced by researchsquare.com

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients present several alterations related to sensing of bodily signals. However, no specific neurocognitive impairment has yet been proposed as a core deficit underlying such symptoms. We aimed to determine whether MS patients present changes in interoception-that is, the monitoring of autonomic bodily information-a proce...

Recent research reveals that some variability in personality differences can be explained by contextual factors such as location. Though little research has systematically evaluated how such variables predict individual differences in Emerging Adulthood, Fosse and Toyokawa (2016) revealed that characteristics of one's university such as selectivity...

Public support for research depends, in part, on the eventual societal benefits from research. Maintaining that support likely requires sustained engagement between the research community and the broader public. Yet, there is little organized effort to evaluate and reward such engagement in addition to research and teaching activities. Using data f...

Public support for research depends, in part, on the eventual societal benefits from research. Maintaining that support likely requires sustained engagement between the research community and the broader public. Yet, there is little organized effort to evaluate and reward such engagement in addition to research and teaching activities. Using data f...

Public support for research depends, in part, on the eventual societal benefits from research. Maintaining that support likely requires sustained engagement between the research community and the broader public. Yet, there is little organized effort to evaluate and reward such engagement in addition to research and teaching activities. Using data f...

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a common measure of the autonomic modulation of the heart. To ensure accuracy, various external factors known to affect HRV such as medication use and concurrent illnesses are frequently controlled during measurement. Despite extensive recognition of the importance of such confounds, the influence of ostensibly innoc...

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a psychophysiological phenomenon with broad implications, providing an accessible index of vagal function, underpinning psychological constructs, including the capacity for social engagement and emotion regulation, and may predict future morbidity and mortality. However, the lack of reference values for short-term HR...

Humanity is facing an increasing burden of chronic disease and an aging population that will lead to more years lived with disability. Dealing with these issues is difficult, made more so by deteriorating social ties and decline in social connectedness, which may also impact on health and wellbeing. However, research on the association between soci...

Ethnic discrimination (ED) is both an unfortunate and uncontrollable phenomenon that uniquely impacts African Americans (AAs) and other individuals of ethnic minority status. Perceived ethnic discrimination (PED), defined as the degree to which an individual consciously perceives a negative event as discriminatory and threatening, largely determine...

This is a duplicate entry for DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31833-0 (ResearchGate staff: Please remove this entry.)

Heart rate variability (HRV) indexes functioning of the vagus nerve, arguably the most important nerve in the human body. The Neurovisceral Integration Model has provided a structural framework for understanding brain-body integration, highlighting the role of the vagus in adaptation to the environment. In the present paper, we emphasise a temporal...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with decreased heart rate variability (HRV), a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity by many, but not all studies. This inconsistency could be due to the association of HRV with specific depressive symptoms. Here, we investigated the association of HRV parameters with components of depressive symptoms f...

Results Between 1990 and 2015, nearly all countries and territories saw their HAQ Index values improve; nonetheless, the difference between the highest and lowest observed HAQ Index was larger in 2015 than in 1990, ranging from 28.6 to 94.7. Out of 195 geographies, 167 had statistically significant increases in HAQ Index levels since 1990, with Sou...