Miss Joanne Smith

I am a third year PhD candidate at Northumbria University, exploring the positive social factors which underpin and maintain student drinking behaviour.  I am interested in the role of positive social benefits and consequences, namely social belonging and popularity, which students and student-athletes associate with alcohol consumption.  I have adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches during my PhD and my final study will use Sociometry to explore popularity and alcohol consumption among team student-athletes. Prior to my PhD I spent five years as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner within a Primary Care Psychological Therapies Team, where I used Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to treat depression and anxiety. I hold an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Northumbria University and a BSc (Hons) in Applied Psychology from the University of Durham. In the future, I hope to pursue an academic career with opportunities to conduct further research focusing on the alcohol consumption of young people and athletes.