
Daryl B O’ConnorUniversity of Leeds · Institute of Psychological Sciences
Daryl B O’Connor
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270
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Introduction
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Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (270)
Suicide is a major cause of death worldwide, responsible for 1.5% of all mortality. The causes of suicidal behavior are not fully understood. Dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, as measured by cortisol levels, is one potential risk factor. This meta-analytic review aimed (i) to estimate the strength and variability of t...
Background:
Stress may indirectly contribute to disease (e.g. cardiovascular disease, cancer) by producing deleterious changes to diet.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a stress management support (SMS) tool to reduce stress-related unhealthy snacking and to promote stress-related healthy snacking.
Methods:
P...
The concept of stress has a long and perhaps foundational history in health psychology. However, it is also not without its detractors, who point out imprecise and simplistic use of the concept. Four challenges for stress research in health psychology delineate the nuanced and contextualised future. First, 'stress' can be located in the environment...
Background
Symptom fluctuations within and between individuals with long COVID are widely reported, but the extent to which severity varies following different types of activity and levels of exertion, and the timing of symptoms and recovery, have not previously been quantified. We aimed to characterise timing, severity, and nature of symptom fluct...
This study investigated: i) the effects of loneliness on self‐reported sleep outcomes and daily stress/hassles, ii) whether the effects of loneliness on sleep outcomes were mediated through prior‐day stress/hassles and iii) if the effects of loneliness on daily stress/hassles were mediated through prior‐night sleep measures. Using a 7‐day diary des...
Background
Hospitalisation can be a traumatic experience, where inpatients are exposed to an abundance of physical and psychological stressors. Evidence suggests that these hospital-related stressors negatively impact health: a phenomenon known as post-hospital syndrome. The current study aimed to identify hospital-related stressors, and to develop...
Background
Rates of burnout are currently at record high levels, and GPs experience higher burnout than many other specialties. Organisational interventions may reduce burnout, but few studies have investigated these in primary care.
Aim
The current study investigated whether breaks, both with and without social interactions, were associated with...
Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are prevalent among UK South Asians. Langar is a Sikh religious food practice that could be important in dietary health promotion. This study explored perceptions of langar, its role in health, readiness and strategies for change and whether Gurdwaras (Sikh place of worship) are able to support change. Usi...
Open research practices seek to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of research. While there is evidence of increased uptake in these practices, such as study preregistration and open data, facilitated by new infrastructure and policies, little research has assessed general uptake of such practices across psychology university researchers....
One important aspect of research transparency is preregistration of empirical studies. American Psychological Association, British Psychological Society, German Psychological Society, along with the Center for Open Science and the Leibniz Institute for Psychology, initiated a Joint Psychological Societies Preregistration Task Force to provide a con...
Cancer screening aims to check the body for cancer before symptoms develop. Social norms theory suggests people falsely perceive the attitudes and/or behaviours of similar others to be different from their own and correcting these perceptions can lead to behaviour change. Across two studies, we tested if women underestimate peer levels of cervical...
Objective
To investigate whether modifications made to the current National Health Service (NHS) invitation letter for follow‐up colonoscopy examination affect participant state anxiety and behavioural intentions to attend.
Methods
Five hundred and thirty‐eight adults of bowel cancer‐eligible screening age (56–74) were randomized to receive the cu...
Background:
To control infections, behavioral non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing and hygiene measures (masking, hand hygiene) were implemented widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, adherence to NPIs has also been implied in an increase in mental health problems. However, the designs of many existing...
Introduction
A substantial proportion of COVID-19 survivors continue to have symptoms more than 3 months after infection, especially of those who required medical intervention. Lasting symptoms are wide-ranging, and presentation varies between individuals and fluctuates within an individual. Improved understanding of undulation in symptoms and trig...
Objetivos: Cumplir con las recomendaciones de comportamiento y las intervenciones no farmacológicas (NPI por sus siglas en inglés) es clave para controlar las tasas de infección por COVID-19. Sin embargo, las tasas han disminuido a nivel mundial y los determinantes potencialmente modificables de la adherencia continua y su interacción con los entor...
Background
The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; as evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with...
Open research practices seek to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of research. Whilst there is evidence of increased uptake in these practices, such as study preregistration and open data, facilitated by new infrastructure and policies, little research has assessed general uptake of such practices across university researchers. The curre...
Background:
The use of latent class analysis (LCA) to understand suicide risk is often not guided by theoretical frameworks. This study used the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behaviour to inform the classification of subtypes of young adults with a suicidal history.
Methods:
Data from young adults in Scotland (n = 35...
Snacking is prevalent in adolescents and can have significant health impacts, but there is considerable individual and cross-country variation in determinants on adolescent snacking. The present study examined the role of eating styles (i.e. restrained eating, emotional eating, external eating, mindful eating) and the constructs of an extended Theo...
Background
Urology trainees experience high burnout, and there is an urgent need for acceptable and effective interventions. The current study evaluated Reboot coaching workshops (Reboot‐C), a tailored intervention based on cognitive–behavioural principles, with urology trainees.
Objective
Our primary objective was to evaluate the acceptability of...
Open Science practices include some combination of registering and publishing study protocols (including hypotheses, primary and secondary outcome variables, and analysis plans) and making available preprints of manuscripts, study materials, de-identified data sets, and analytic codes. This statement from the Behavioral Medicine Research Council (B...
Open Science practices include some combination of registering and publishing study protocols (including hypotheses, primary and secondary outcome variables, and analysis plans) and making available preprints of manuscripts, study materials, de-identified data sets, and analytic codes. This statement from the Behavioral Medicine Research Council (B...
Open Science practices include some combination of registering and publishing study protocols (including hypotheses, primary and secondary outcome variables, and analysis plans) and making available preprints of manuscripts, study materials, de-identified data sets, and analytic codes. This statement from the Behavioral Medicine Research Council (B...
Background:
Surgeons in the UK report high burnout levels. Burnout has been found to be associated with adverse patient outcomes but there are few studies that have examined this association in surgeons and even fewer which have examined this relationship over time.
Purpose:
The main aim was to examine the relationships between surgeon burnout a...
Background
Hospital inpatients are exposed to high levels of stress during hospitalisation that may increase susceptibility to major adverse health events post-hospitalisation (known as post-hospital syndrome). However, the existing evidence base has not been reviewed and the magnitude of this relationship remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of the...
Existing research has shown that daily hassles are associated with increases in between-meal snacking, often resulting in the increased consumption of high sweet and high fat foods. However, it is currently unclear whether the presence of daily uplifts may buffer the negative effects of daily hassles on unhealthy eating behaviour. Therefore, the cu...
Stress-related eating has been well documented in previous literature. However, there is limited research investigating the role of cortisol reactivity in daily stress-eating associations in samples of adolescents and young adults. 123 participants completed a baseline questionnaire and the Trier Social Stress Test in groups. Four saliva samples we...
Objective:
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer to occur in women worldwide. In the UK, the NHS cervical screening programme invites eligible individuals to take part in screening every 3-5 years. At present, around 70% of individuals attend screening when invited. The present study aimed to test the effectiveness of a volitional and a...
Background: Behavioural non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing and hygiene (masking, hand hygiene) were implemented widely during the COVID-19 pandemic to control infections. NPI adherence is crucial for effectiveness, but has also been implied in an increase in mental health problems. However, existing studies often have...
Objective:
Job strain has been implicated in a variety of adverse health outcomes, particularly cardiometabolic and inflammatory diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain largely unknown. One possibility is that the maladaptive coping response to stress, (perseverative cognition (PC); the cognitive representation of past st...
Objectives: Adherence to behavioral non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) is key to control COVID-19 infection rates. However, rates have decreased globally, and the potentially modifiable determinants of ongoing adherence and their interaction with social and physical momentary environments are still poorly understood. Here, we comprehensively e...
Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and childhood trauma has been found to be an important risk factor. However, the mechanisms linking trauma to suicide risk remain unclear. Aims: The current registered report sought to (1) investigate whether childhood trauma and its subtypes were related to suicide risk in adulthood and (2...
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with psychological distress. In addition to physical effects including fatigue and cognitive impairment, contracting COVID-19 itself may also be related to subsequent negative mental health outcomes. The present study reports data from a longitudinal, national survey of the UK adult population investigating...
Objective
To further understand the barriers and facilitators to attending colonoscopy examination following a positive routinely offered stool test result, from the perspective of patients and Specialist Screening Practitioners (SSPs).
Methods
Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted. Participants (N = 32) were patients (n = 20) who,...
Background
Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is a constitutive hormone secreted in men by the mature Leydig cells of the testes. It is an accurate biomarker for Leydig cell functional capacity, reflecting their total cell number and differentiation status.
Objectives
To determine the ability of INSL3 to predict hypogonadism and age-related morbidity...
Background
Older adult carers of people who experience psychosis are at increased risk of developing physical and mental health problems due to the compounding factors of supporting their care-recipient and the health changes associated with ageing. Effective interventions exist but can be difficult to access and maintain prolonged engagement. Self...
Public health emergencies increase the presence and severity of multiple suicide risk factors and thus may increase suicide vulnerability. Understanding how suicide risk factors interact throughout the course of a global pandemic can inform how to help the most vulnerable groups in society. The aims of the research were to explore the associations...
Background
People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of developing breast and bowel cancers but are less likely to participate in cancer screening.
Purpose
Two interlinked studies examined public awareness of the fact that T2DM increases breast and bowel cancer risk, and provision of this information on diabetes websites.
Met...
Objective:
Worry and rumination (Perseverative Cognition, PC) have been associated with health behaviours, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Given the role of physiological experiences on perceived behavioural control (PBC) and emotion regulation on intention-health behaviour relationships, we tested whether: PC prospectively predicts poo...
Information-seeking has generally been seen as an adaptive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it may also result in negative outcomes on mental health. The present study tests whether reporting COVID-related information-seeking throughout the pandemic is associated with subsequently poorer mental health outcomes. A quota-based, non-probabi...
Background and Aims
Poor well-being affects the performance of all kinds of workers, including surgeons. This study aimed to answer two questions: (1) how does burnout affect surgeons personally, and what is their burnout experience like? (2) How does burnout affect the care that surgeons provide in the United Kingdom (UK)?
Method
This study condu...
Objective: In the UK, approximately 3,200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Regular screening is one of the best ways to prevent cervical cancer from developing, yet screening rates are declining and vary by sociodemographic variables. The present stratified online study aimed to investigate relationships between sociodemographic...
Background
First responders are faced with stressful and traumatic events in their work that may affect their psychological health. The current review examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress and burnout in first responders.
Methods
Four databases were sear...
Background
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge amount of information has been shared to keep people informed about health-related and other topics. While information-seeking has generally been seen as an adaptive response to the pandemic, it can result in negative outcomes including on mental health. The present study reports longitudinal data...
The prevalence of obesity among Chinese adolescents is rising rapidly, and theoretically informed, scalable weight management interventions are needed. We developed and evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effects of an mHealth nutrition education and mindful snacking intervention for weight loss and improved dietary practices among Chinese ad...
Background
Waves 1 to 3 (March 2020 to May 2020) of the UK COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing study suggested an improvement in some indicators of mental health across the first 6 weeks of the UK lockdown; however, suicidal ideation increased.
Aims
To report the prevalence of mental health and well-being of adults in the UK from March/April 2020...
Background
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among ambulance personnel, but its prevalence varies between developed and developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the lived experience of potentially traumatic work events between Saudi and UK ambulance personnel.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews with 16 ambulance workers...
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with psychological distress. In addition to physical effects including fatigue and cognitive impairment, contracting COVID-19 itself may also be related to subsequent negative mental health outcomes. The present study reports data from a longitudinal, national survey of the UK adult population, i...
Background:
The lasting effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic are likely to be significant.
Aims:
This study tracked worry and rumination levels during the pandemic and investigated whether periods with higher COVID-related worry and rumination were associated with more negative mental health and loneliness.
Methods:
A quota survey...
Overweight and obesity are major public health challenges in China, and increasingly among young people. Valid measures are needed to examine the relationship between eating styles and weight to advance understanding and intervention. Mindful approaches show promise in weight management. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties o...
Introduction:
Long COVID, a new condition whose origins and natural history are not yet fully established, currently affects 1.5 million people in the UK. Most do not have access to specialist long COVID services. We seek to optimise long COVID care both within and outside specialist clinics, including improving access, reducing inequalities, help...
The levels of psychological distress and burnout among healthcare staff are high, with negative implications for patient care. A growing body of evidence indicates that workplace programmes based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are effective for improving employees’ general psychological health. However, there is a paucity of research ex...
Purpose
Three main objectives of this study were as follows: (1) To estimate the prevalence rate of post-traumatic stress disordered (PTSD) symptoms among Saudi paramedics, (2) To investigate which types of coping strategies were associated with PTSD symptoms among Saudi paramedics, (3) To explore which sources of social support were associated wit...
Introduction
Long COVID, a new condition whose origins and natural history are not yet fully established, currently affects 1.5 million people in the UK. Most do not have access to specialist long COVID services. We seek to optimise long COVID care both within and outside specialist clinics, including improving access, reducing inequalities, helpin...
Background
Poor wellbeing affects the performance of all types of workers. Surgeons are particularly at risk of suffering from burnout, but minimal qualitative research has examined the causes of burnout and potential solutions in this group. Understanding this could inform the development of future burnout interventions.
Purpose
This study aimed...
Open Science practices include some combination of registering and publishing study protocols (including hypotheses, primary and secondary outcome variables, and analysis plans) and making available preprints of manuscripts, study materials, de-identified data sets, and analytic codes. This statement from the Behavioral Medicine Research Council pr...
Objectives
Physical distancing, that is keeping 1-2m apart when co-located, can prevent cases of droplet or aerosol transmitted infectious diseases such as SARS-COV2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, distancing was a recommendation or a requirement in many countries. This systematic review aimed to determine which interventions and behaviour change te...
Imagining music in the mind's ear is common in everyday life and is characterised by individual differences in who is likely to experience involuntary musical imagery. Research has explored the relationship between musical imagery and mental health (e.g., obsessive compulsive disorder); however, little is known about the relationship between anxiet...
Objectives
Physical distancing, defined as keeping 1–2m apart when co-located, can prevent cases of droplet or aerosol transmitted infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, distancing was a recommendation or a requirement in many countries. This systematic review aimed to determine which interventions and behavior change...
Childhood trauma is known to increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behaviours, and has also been linked to hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation measured in cortisol levels. Recent evidence has shown that adverse childhood experiences are associated with lower cortisol reactivity to stress and diminished cortisol levels upon...
Objective:
Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and the psychological factors associated can help inform subsequent interventions to protect psychological health. In particular, psychological flexibility has been shown to be an important target for intervention. The current study aimed to investigate associations betw...
Background
Previous systematic reviews have found high burnout in healthcare professionals is associated with poorer patient care. However, no review or meta-analysis has investigated this association in surgeons specifically. The present study addressed this gap, by examining the association between surgeon burnout and 1) patient safety and 2) sur...
Recent years have seen dramatic changes in research practices in psychological science. In particular, preregistration of study plans before conducting a study has been identified as an important tool to help increase the transparency of science and to improve the robustness of psychological research findings. This article presents the Psychologica...
Objectives:
The purpose of bowel cancer screening is to test for signs of cancer before symptoms develop. Financial incentives are one potential method to increase participation rates. Few studies have tested incentives in relation to bowel screening in the United Kingdom (UK). The current research explored reactions to different financial incenti...