Becky Heaver | University of Brighton (original) (raw)

Papers by Becky Heaver

SAGE Open, 2016

The concept of resilience has evolved, from an individual-level characteristic to a wider ecologi... more The concept of resilience has evolved, from an individual-level characteristic to a wider ecological notion that takes into account broader person–environment interactions, generating an increased interest in health and well-being research, practice and policy. At the same time, the research and policy-based attempts to build resilience are increasingly under attack for responsibilizing individuals and maintaining, rather than challenging, the inequitable structure of society. When adversities faced by children and young people result from embedded inequality and social disadvantage, resilience-based knowledge has the potential to influence the wider adversity context. Therefore, it is vital that conceptualizations of resilience encompass this potential for marginalized people to challenge and transform aspects of their adversity, without holding them responsible for the barriers they face. This article outlines and provides examples from an approach that we are taking in our resear...

International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2010

Contemporary Social Science, 2013

Abstract: The aim of this paper was to review published accounts of resilience-based approaches w... more Abstract: The aim of this paper was to review published accounts of resilience-based approaches with and for disabled children and young people aged up to 25 years. The review is part of a broader study looking more generally at resilience-based interventions with and for young people. The authors attempt to summarise the approaches and techniques that might best support those children and young people who need them the most. However, when compared to the number of evaluated resilience-based approaches to working with typically-developing children and young people, those including children and young people with complex needs are disappointingly lacking. Of 830 retrieved references, 46 were relevant and 23 met the inclusion criteria and form the body of this review. They covered a variety of intervention content, setting, and delivery, and diverse children and young people, making comparative evaluation prohibitive. The difficulties in identifying suitable resilience-based interventi...

During recognition memory tests participants" pupils dilate more when they view old items co... more During recognition memory tests participants" pupils dilate more when they view old items compared to novel items. We sought to replicate this "pupil old/new effect" and to determine its relationship to participants" responses. We compared changes in pupil size during recognition when participants were given standard recognition memory instructions, instructions to feign amnesia and instructions to report all items as new. Participants" pupils dilated more to old items compared to new items under all three instruction conditions. This finding suggests that the increase in pupil size that occurs when participants encounter previously studied items is not under conscious control. Given that pupil size can be reliably and simply measured, the pupil old/new effect may have potential in clinical settings as a means for determining whether patients are feigning memory loss.

Resilient approaches to working in school contexts take many different forms. This makes them dif... more Resilient approaches to working in school contexts take many different forms. This makes them difficult to evaluate, copy and compare. Conventional academic literature reviews of these approaches are often unable to dea l with the complexity of the interventions in a way that leads to a meaningful c omparative appraisal. Further, they rarely summarise and critique the literature in a way that is of practical use to people actually wishing to learn how to intervene in an educational context, such as parents and practitioners. This includes teachers and classroom assistants, who can experience reviews as frustrating, difficult to digest and hard to lea rn from. Applying findings to their own particular settings, without precisely replicating the approach described, presents serious challenges to them. The aim of this paper is to exp lain how and why school-based resilience approaches for young people aged 12-18 d o (or do not) work in particular contexts, holding in mind the parents a...

This report presents findings of a stakeholder consultation. The consultation gathered views on w... more This report presents findings of a stakeholder consultation. The consultation gathered views on what should be the priorities for mental health related research sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The stakeholders were people with lived experience of mental health challenges and/or experience of supporting others with such challenges (either in a paid or voluntary working role, or as a friend/family member). The report was commissioned by the ESRC to complement an expert reference group report (December 2015) and other consultations. The not-for-profit Boingboing conducted the ‘Have Your Say' consultation in collaboration with the University of Brighton. We drew on our experience of co-production in research and practice development with diverse and often marginalised groups, including people with lived experiences of mental health challenges. The events were organised and run by people with lived experience of mental health challenges and of supporting...

This guide is designed to help anybody who wants to develop or commission a resilience program to... more This guide is designed to help anybody who wants to develop or commission a resilience program to work across a school or local area to support young people at risk of developing mental health difficulties. In her role as advisor to the Big Lottery Fund's HeadStart programme in England, Professor Angie Hart developed the methodological approach outlined below based on her academic research, her work as a child mental health practitioner and her lived experience of supporting children with mental health issues. In addition, the research undertaken and the production of the guide has been supported by the University of Brighton and the Economicand Social Research Council as part of Imagine, an international research project exploring and developing resilience approaches to supporting disadvantaged people. Dr Becky Heaver contributed to researching the different resilience approaches, and appraising them for this guide.

ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2014

Arts based approaches hold promise for supporting the development of young people's resilienc... more Arts based approaches hold promise for supporting the development of young people's resilience. However, there have been few empirical studies that consider how to set them up. Furthermore, whether or not young people actually find them supportive is another question that merits further attention. This research is based on the findings of a collaboration between a community mental health focused arts organization, a charity supporting families with disabled children, and university academics. We set up a series of weekly resilience-building visual arts workshops for young people and undertook a review of what we termed the ‘arts for resilience' literature. We found a significant existing evidence base which links visual arts practice to individual and community resilience (over 190 related references). Many disciplinary fields were cited, including art therapy, social work, community health, cultural policy and geographies of health. Key recent publications in the ‘arts for ...

The UBR (University of Brighton Repository) is a central institutional repository that records th... more The UBR (University of Brighton Repository) is a central institutional repository that records the work of the University's researchers. It is an open access, organic resource and is freely available via the web to researchers worldwide.

This article provides an overview of how arts-based approaches have the potential to support the ... more This article provides an overview of how arts-based approaches have the potential to support the development of young people's resilience. It also summarises our own research study that aimed to identify and evaluate the possible benefits of visual arts interventions for young people with complex needs. We began our research by reviewing arts based literature framed by our own Resilience Framework (www.boingboing.org.uk). This framework draws on five key components of resilience that prior reviews and research have identified as crucial to young people's wellbeing and personal development - these are Basics, Belonging, Learning, Coping and Core Self. These core concepts helped identify some key resilience benefits of visual arts interventions. Finally, some of the limitations of this study are considered and we make recommendations on further and more indepth, longitudinal research on this subject.

It has recently been found that during recognition memory tests participants’ pupils dilate more ... more It has recently been found that during recognition memory tests participants’ pupils dilate more when they view old items compared to novel items. This thesis sought to replicate this novel ‘‘Pupil Old/New Effect’’ (PONE) and to determine its relationship to implicit and explicit mnemonic processes, the veracity of participants’ responses, and the analogous Event-Related Potential (ERP) old/new effect. Across 9 experiments, pupil-size was measured with a video-based eye-tracker during a variety of recognition tasks, and, in the case of Experiment 8, with concurrent Electroencephalography (EEG). The main findings of this thesis are that: - the PONE occurs in a standard explicit test of recognition memory but not in “implicit” tests of either perceptual fluency or artificial grammar learning; - the PONE is present even when participants are asked to give false behavioural answers in a malingering task, or are asked not to respond at all; - the PONE is present when attention is divided...

British Journal of Guidance & Counselling