Research Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Daryl O'Connor; John Aggleton; Bhismadev  Chakarabati; Cary Cooper; Cathy Creswell; Sandra Dunsmuir; Susan Fiske; Susan  Gathercole; Brendan Gough; Jane Ireland; Marc Jones; Adam Jowett; Carolyn Kagan; Maria Karanika-Murray; Linda Kaye; Veena Kumari; Stephan Lewandowsky; Stafford Lightman; Debra Malpass; Elizabeth Meins; Paul Morgan; Lisa Morrison Coulthard; Stephen Reicher; Daniel Schacter; Susan Sherman; Victoria Simms; Antony Williams; Til Wykes; Christopher Armitage

doi:10.1111/bjop.12468

Research Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Daryl O'Connor, John Aggleton, Bhismadev Chakarabati, Cary Cooper, Cathy Creswell, Sandra Dunsmuir, Susan Fiske, Susan Gathercole, Brendan Gough, Jane Ireland, Marc Jones, Adam Jowett, Carolyn Kagan, Maria Karanika-Murray, Linda Kaye, Veena Kumari, Stephan Lewandowsky, Stafford Lightman, Debra Malpass, Elizabeth MeinsPaul Morgan, Lisa Morrison Coulthard, Stephen Reicher, Daniel Schacter, Susan Sherman, Victoria Simms, Antony Williams, Til Wykes, Christopher Armitage

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Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest international biopsychosocial emergency the world has faced for a century, and psychological science has an integral role to offer in helping societies recover. The aim of this paper is to set out the shorter- and longer-term priorities for research in psychological science that will (a) frame the breadth and scope of potential contributions from across the discipline; (b) enable researchers to focus their resources on gaps in knowledge; and (c) help funders and policymakers make informed decisions about future research priorities in order to best meet the needs of societies as they emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic. The research priorities were informed by an expert panel convened by the British Psychological Society that reflects the breadth of the discipline; a wider advisory panel with international input; and a survey of 539 psychological scientists conducted early in May 2020. The most pressing need is to research the negative biopsychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate immediate and longer-term recovery, not only in relation to mental health, but also in relation to behaviour change and adherence, work, education, children and families, physical health and the brain, and social cohesion and connectedness. We call on psychological scientists to work collaboratively with other scientists and stakeholders, establish consortia, and develop innovative research methods while maintaining high-quality, open, and rigorous research standards.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	603-629
Number of pages	27
Journal	British Journal of Psychology
Volume	111
Issue number	4
Early online date	19 Jul 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12468
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - 1 Nov 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Christopher Armitage's contribution is supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of NIHR. Armitage would like to thank Professors Madelynne Arden and Alison Wearden for their support in writing. Til Wykes would like to acknowledge the support of her NIHR Senior Investigator Award.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society

Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

COVID-19
behaviour change
children
education
families
health
human development
mental health
neuroscience
pandemic
psychological science
psychology
school
stress
trauma
work

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1111/bjop.12468Licence: CC BY

bjop.12468Final published version, 305 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

O'Connor, D., Aggleton, J., Chakarabati, B., Cooper, C., Creswell, C., Dunsmuir, S., Fiske, S., Gathercole, S., Gough, B., Ireland, J., Jones, M., Jowett, A., Kagan, C., Karanika-Murray, M., Kaye, L., Kumari, V., Lewandowsky, S., Lightman, S., Malpass, D., ... Armitage, C. (2020). Research Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science. British Journal of Psychology, 111(4), 603-629. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12468

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abstract = "The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest international biopsychosocial emergency the world has faced for a century, and psychological science has an integral role to offer in helping societies recover. The aim of this paper is to set out the shorter- and longer-term priorities for research in psychological science that will (a) frame the breadth and scope of potential contributions from across the discipline; (b) enable researchers to focus their resources on gaps in knowledge; and (c) help funders and policymakers make informed decisions about future research priorities in order to best meet the needs of societies as they emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic. The research priorities were informed by an expert panel convened by the British Psychological Society that reflects the breadth of the discipline; a wider advisory panel with international input; and a survey of 539 psychological scientists conducted early in May 2020. The most pressing need is to research the negative biopsychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate immediate and longer-term recovery, not only in relation to mental health, but also in relation to behaviour change and adherence, work, education, children and families, physical health and the brain, and social cohesion and connectedness. We call on psychological scientists to work collaboratively with other scientists and stakeholders, establish consortia, and develop innovative research methods while maintaining high-quality, open, and rigorous research standards.",

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note = "Funding Information: Christopher Armitage's contribution is supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of NIHR. Armitage would like to thank Professors Madelynne Arden and Alison Wearden for their support in writing. Til Wykes would like to acknowledge the support of her NIHR Senior Investigator Award. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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O'Connor, D, Aggleton, J, Chakarabati, B, Cooper, C, Creswell, C, Dunsmuir, S, Fiske, S, Gathercole, S, Gough, B, Ireland, J, Jones, M, Jowett, A, Kagan, C, Karanika-Murray, M, Kaye, L, Kumari, V, Lewandowsky, S, Lightman, S, Malpass, D, Meins, E, Morgan, P, Morrison Coulthard, L, Reicher, S, Schacter, D, Sherman, S, Simms, V, Williams, A, Wykes, T & Armitage, C 2020, 'Research Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science', British Journal of Psychology, vol. 111, no. 4, pp. 603-629. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12468

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AU - Dunsmuir, Sandra

AU - Fiske, Susan

AU - Gathercole, Susan

AU - Gough, Brendan

AU - Ireland, Jane

AU - Jones, Marc

AU - Jowett, Adam

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AU - Kumari, Veena

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AU - Morrison Coulthard, Lisa

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N1 - Funding Information: Christopher Armitage's contribution is supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of NIHR. Armitage would like to thank Professors Madelynne Arden and Alison Wearden for their support in writing. Til Wykes would like to acknowledge the support of her NIHR Senior Investigator Award. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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Research Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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